Armenian MPs Visit Upper Lars, Study the Queue Situation

A delegation from the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, led by the chairman of the Standing Committee on Regional and Eurasian Integration, Mikayel Melkumyan, has visited Upper Lars. The situation regarding the chronic queues and traffic jams that have developed over the years has been thoroughly studied on site.

The delegation was accompanied by Kazbek Kutsukovich Taysayev, deputy chairman of the committee on CIS affairs, Eurasian integration, and relations with compatriots in the State Duma of Russia. They were received at the parliament of the Republic of North Ossetia, where they met with the parliament's chairman, Mr. Alexey Vasilievich Machnev.

All concerned parties were present, including the command of the border troops, leadership, as well as heads of the customs services of the North Caucasus region and the customs service of North Ossetia.

All existing issues were meticulously analyzed, particularly with regard to increasing the throughput capacity from Russia to Georgia and Armenia, especially for freight vehicles. In this context, the Government of the Russian Federation has already allocated approximately 1.9 billion Russian rubles to expand the number of routes for freight vehicles within targeted state programs.

It was also noted that constructions would lead to further congestion and that alternative solutions are needed. Issues related to phytosanitary organization at the checkpoints were also discussed. Here, there is a challenge regarding the harmonization of the laws of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia.

One of the proposed solutions is to check weights not at the customs final point in Lars but at 3-4 other existing points beforehand. Another concern is the distance of phytosanitary laboratory testing centers; they are located not in Vladikavkaz, which is 120 km from Lars, but in the capital Nalchik of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic. This is also causing delays.

Questions concerning passenger transport were discussed as well, focusing on licensed transportation, establishing clear schedules among transport companies, and service issues presented by the border service.

The above-mentioned issues will be discussed on November 6 during a meeting of the Armenian-Russian Inter-Parliamentary Commission in Gyumri, where one of the main presenters will also be Mikayel Melkumyan, the chairman of the Standing Committee on Regional and Eurasian Integration.

Other issues related to cargo inspections and batch releases were also addressed. It is hoped that soon the State Revenue Committee of the Republic of Armenia will have a permanent representative in Lars.

Also present at the meeting was Arthur Sargsyan, the Consul of the Republic of Armenia in Rostov-on-Don.