Situation at Lars: Is Car Entry to Georgia Being Prohibited? Clarification

Reports have emerged on Georgian social media stating that Russia is prohibiting cars from entering Georgia via the Lars checkpoint, with significant traffic jams stretching several kilometers noted at the site.

The law enforcement agencies of North Ossetia have denied these claims, emphasizing that the Russian side is not preventing cars with Georgian license plates from crossing the state border. ‘We are operating in a normal mode. All lanes are functioning. There are no queues. At most, 20-30 cars are accumulating, with a waiting time of ten minutes,’ said the spokesperson for the North Ossetia customs service in an interview with Sputnik Georgia.

According to him, they are not discouraging travelers from visiting Georgia, as it is their right. ‘The most we do is warn that from July 8, by order of Vladimir Putin, air communication with Georgia will be temporarily halted. We cannot predict what will happen tomorrow, but at this moment, we have received no directives regarding a ban on entering Georgia from Russia,’ he explained.

Incidentally, Russian citizens entering Georgia are warned that flights from Moscow to Tbilisi and back will be suspended beginning July 8.