Customs Not Operating: 200 Vehicles Stuck at Gogavan Checkpoint from Georgian Side for 4 Days

At the Gogavan checkpoint (Lori region), nearly 200 vehicles have been stuck for over two days, unable to cross the Armenian border. Abgar Asatryan, one of the drivers stranded at the checkpoint, informed Tert.am about the situation.

"I have been here since 2 PM yesterday, and those who arrived before me have been waiting for the third or fourth day," he said.

When asked about the cause of the delay, he noted that the previous shift workers indicated that low wages were preventing them from working. "People do not want to work at all. The reason is that the wages are low. The last shift mentioned this—they said they won’t work because the wages are low. They claim that a bus from Turkey is arriving, and they are examining the cargo of that bus and do not want to assist us in any way," he added.

He continued, "The situation is such that there are no shops here, and we cannot buy anything. Every time we pass the checkpoint, Kalinino city is 30 km away, and taxis charge 1000 drams to take us there and 2000 drams to bring us back. We are at a loss now; we feel disoriented. We used to complain about passing through Russia, but it was easier to get through there than to enter our own territory. They are not working in any way."

Another reason, according to the driver, is that there are too few employees, which makes them unable to work effectively. "But the number of staff is not small; they spend the whole night drinking and do not work during the day," he specified.

When asked how many vehicles have passed through the checkpoint during their wait and how many are still stuck, he replied, "Only four vehicles have crossed into Armenia, while about 200 vehicles are currently waiting. We planned to come to Armenia and have now been stuck on the Georgian side."

"We have called everywhere; no one responds, not even to the hotline. They just say they are working normally. No one is sent to check on why so many vehicles have been stuck for so long; they won’t come and ask a single driver what has happened. They are sitting comfortably in a warm place while we are stranded here in the cold. We have only managed to advance to the area of those four vehicles that were allowed in," he emphasized.

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