Russia Has Not Made Any Decision to Tighten Control Only Over Armenian Trucks, Says Deputy Prime Minister's Office

“The Russian side has not made any decision to tighten control only over Armenian trucks,” the office of Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan stated in response to inquiries from Hetq regarding the traffic jams that have arisen at the Upper Lars checkpoint.

According to the information received, the Russian side has tightened control over all trucks and at all checkpoints due to security concerns.

The office notes that a solution to this issue may be reached by establishing a new customs control zone in the area adjacent to the Russian Upper Lars customs checkpoint and installing necessary scanning equipment for customs control. They assure that they have already officially addressed this matter to their Russian counterparts. The office did not clarify whether it was Mher Grigoryan who made the request or another member of the Government.

“It should also be noted that there are already positive trends; the number of trucks passing through the Upper Lars checkpoint has slightly increased in recent days and shows a tendency for growth,” the office of Mher Grigoryan states.

For about a month, trucks from exporting Armenian companies have been accumulated on the Georgian side along the Lars road, unable to cross the border and reach Russia. The queues stretch for kilometers. The Russian side has tightened control over trucks.

Exporters are trying to raise the issue through various channels, emphasizing that the export of agricultural products is particularly under threat. However, they are not receiving appropriate responses from the official side.

Regarding the traffic jams along the Lars road, Hetq has approached several agencies to understand how they envision solving the problem. A week ago, inquiries were sent to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and MP Babken Tunyan, but they have not yet responded.