Tuesday, February 5 2019 11:54

ArmInfo.Moscow and Tbilisi have completed the procedures necessary to implement in practice the agreement of 2011 "On the basic principles of the mechanism of  customs administration and monitoring of trade in goods.

"In an interview with Kommersant, State Secretary, Deputy Foreign Minister  of the Russian Federation Grigory Karasin noted that it is now  important to streamline the implementation of this agreement. "We  waited until the Georgian sidemake the necessary contribution to the  Swiss company SGS (which will monitor the flow of goods and their  labeling - "Kommersant").

 The delay was six months. But in the end, funds were made  off. On  February 6, we hope, a meeting of interdepartmental delegations of  Russia and Georgia will be held in Geneva, in which representatives  of Switzerland and SGS will also take part. We are looking forward to  the results of this meeting, we hope that they will be positive. If  everything is like that, we will finally be able to start  implementing the agreements that were reached in 2011, "the deputy  minister said.According to him, it is important that there is no  politicization of this process. Two (of the three - "Kommersant")  corridors will pass through the territory of Abkhazia and South  Ossetia. 

It is planned that the goods that go through Georgia toRussia (not  necessarily Georgian, but, for example, Armenian) will be fixed at  the customs monitoring points by the Swiss company SGS, then with the  seals go through the territories of Abkhazia or South Ossetia, and  already on the Russian territory the seals will be removed. All data  on goods that will pass through this territory will be transferred to  the WTO.At the same time, Grigory Karasin urged not to hurry with  expectations of an increase in trade with Georgia or with Armenia.  "We will notrun ahead. We must first establish a monitoring  mechanism. Zurab Abashidze, the special representative of the Prime  Minister of Georgia for relations with Russia, agreed to meet at the  end of February, after the meeting in Geneva, to once again discuss  how this all will work and look at all the difficulties. Do not  expect quick breakthroughs. We are faced with serious technical and  logistical work, and it will take time and perseverance.

 The Russian side is ready for such work, "the deputy minister  noted.Recall that on May 24 last year in Prague, representatives of  Russia and Georgia reached an agreement that a tripartite commission  would be formed for customs control of goods on the territory of  Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which will include representatives of  Georgia, Russia and the Swiss company SGS. "If the agreement is  implemented, we will have alternative ways to transport goods in  cases where the road through Verkhny Lars is closed," Armenian Deputy  Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan noted on his Facebook page. He also  noted that the conversation on this topic was still on May 14, 2018  at a meeting of the RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan with the  President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in Sochi.As  ArmInfo previously reported, on December 22, 2017, the Georgian  Foreign Ministry signed a contract with the Swiss company SGS, which  will control the cargo transportation between Russia, Georgia and  Armenia through Abkhazia and South Ossetia. According to the  document, transport corridors alternative to the Georgian-Georgian  road can only be used under force majeure circumstances.Now the  Georgian Military Highway, on which the Upper Lars checkpoint is  located in North Ossetia, is one of the main transport routes  connecting Russia with Georgia and Armenia. In winter, there is a  high probability of heavy snowfall and avalanches, which makes it  ranked third in the ranking of the most dangerous roads in the world,  compiled by the Internet resource Autospies.com. 

According to the contract, three corridors will be arranged for the  carriage of goods - in the direction of the territory of Abkhazia, on  Lars and in the Tskhinvali region, the location of these corridors is  determined by geographical coordinates. The 2011 agreement lists  geographical coordinates, not place names. This was done in order to  maintain a neutral approach to the status of Abkhazia and South  Ossetia.