Armenian Citizens Cannot Enter Georgia, Including Through the Upper Lars Checkpoint: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Once again, we inform that according to the decision of the Georgian government, foreign nationals, including Armenian citizens, cannot enter the territory of Georgia, including through the Upper Lars checkpoint. The Upper Lars checkpoint is open exclusively for freight vehicles, as well as for citizens of Russia and Georgia returning from the territories of Russia and Georgia.

This statement has been released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

It should be added that thanks to negotiations with our partners in Russia and Georgia and their goodwill, it has been possible to ensure the transfer of around 140 Armenian citizens who had been at the Upper Lars checkpoint for several days to Armenia by 20:00 on March 20, passing through the territory of Georgia. This one-time transfer of Armenian citizens was carried out with 5 buses and 4 minibuses, while the personal vehicles of Armenian citizens have been placed in a specially designated parking lot under round-the-clock monitoring, thanks to the efforts of the Armenian Consulate General in Rostov.

We again emphasize that this transfer has been carried out as an exception, and the land border between Armenia and Georgia is closed for passengers.

As mentioned, for the third day, the Armenian Consul General in Rostov, Vardan Asoyan, has been at the Upper Lars checkpoint, where he coordinated the provision of food and essential supplies to Armenian citizens, answered their pressing questions, and addressed other issues faced by them.

We thank all citizens who found themselves in a crisis situation for their patience and understanding, thus supporting the work of our diplomats. We call on all our citizens in similar situations to exhibit a high level of civic awareness, refrain from individual provocations, and not hinder the work of our diplomats, which is primarily aimed at overcoming the crisis situation.