Kerobyan on Addressing the Situation at Upper Lars

The Minister of Economy of Armenia, Vahan Kerobyan, stated during a Q&A session following a government meeting that remedying the situation at the Upper Lars checkpoint hinges on ensuring the absence of queues for trucks in Georgia. According to him, many operators have suffered losses, and everything is being assessed over time. If the issue is deep-rooted, support programs will be implemented.

“We have requested our Georgian partners to include flowers and fresh fish in a special category so that trucks loaded with these goods can also pass through Georgia without waiting and approach the Upper Lars checkpoint,” he noted.

The minister explained that many trucks previously entered Russia directly from Europe, and now they must bypass the entire region, with the closest checkpoint being Lars. “On June 11, I met with my Russian counterpart at the Upper Lars checkpoint to address the issue. As a result of our agreement, on June 20, the Russian government decided to open a second customs clearance zone near the Upper Lars checkpoint, which, according to our assessment, should increase capacity by 30 percent. This means that instead of the current 400-450 vehicles, we can expect 650-700 vehicles daily,” Kerobyan clarified.