Video: Residents Block Kiran-Tsokapar Road, Yerevan-Tbilisi Route Changed

A major transport company engaged in passenger transportation from Armenia to Georgia has temporarily altered the Yerevan-Tbilisi route due to the situation in the Tavush region. This information was provided to Sputnik Armenia by the company.

On the evening of April 19, residents of border villages in Tavush began a protest on the Armenia-Georgia interstate road. They oppose the delimitation option agreed upon by Yerevan and Baku. On April 20, after the road was reopened, villagers met at the community hall to draft proposals with the administrative head of Kiran, Kamo Shahinyan. They highlighted that the proposed option makes the continued existence of the village impossible.

A meeting with Mher Grigoryan is scheduled for March 22 at 18:00, and the administrative heads of Kiran, Baghanis, Berqaber, and Tsokapar villages, as well as aware villagers of the border situation, are expected to attend.

The company noted that under the main route, vehicles pass through the Abovyan-Sevan-Dilijan-Ijevan-Novemberyan section and exit towards the border with Georgia near the village of Bagratashen. However, due to the delimitation and the situation created in the Tavush region, the company has changed the route. Currently, passenger transportation is being carried out in two directions.

One route starts in Yerevan, then goes through the Abovyan-Sevan-Dilijan road, after which drivers continue towards Vanadzor and Alaverdi, exiting towards the border with Georgia. This route is 30 km longer than that passing through Novemberyan. The second route to get from Yerevan to Tbilisi passes through Aparan - Spitak - Vanadzor - Alaverdi - the border with Georgia. The company did not rule out the possibility of completely abandoning the route passing through Ijevan and Novemberyan after the delimitation.

It is noted that residents of Tavush have once again blocked the Kiran-Tsokapar road since morning. This was confirmed in a conversation with Suren Petrosyan, a political analyst living in Tsokapar. He stated that the residents decided not to wait for the meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister scheduled for Monday, as people from the village had come to engage in actions related to delimitation work.

One resident of Kiran mentioned in a conversation that some residents had already gone out to the road but were not blocking it. However, after border guards entered the village and began taking action in the areas where the boundary is supposed to pass according to the newly released maps, the residents decided to block the road.

During a Facebook live session, Suren Petrosyan reported that armed forces were attempting to carry out demining activities near the Holy Mother of God Church in Tsokapar. However, the villagers obstructed and did not allow the work to continue.

Local residents also reported that attempts to conduct demining operations were made in the vicinity of the Baghanis village, but again, residents impeded the work.

Since April 19, residents of border villages in Tavush have begun a protest on the Armenia-Georgia interstate road opposing the delimitation option agreed upon by Yerevan and Baku.