ArmInfo. Armenia does not comment on the negotiations between Georgia and the Russian Federation on the opening of the alternative road to Upper Lars.
Armenian Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Hakob Arsary hakyan told journalists on February 8 after a government meeting.According to the minister, negotiations are continuing. "The question was heard more than once. We tried not to comment, and now we will stick to this strategy," he said.At the same time, according to Arshakyan, the project that will make possible the availability of an alternative to Upper Lars is very important for Armenia.
"Nevertheless, in order not to damage the negotiation process, we refrain from commenting, given that this is not about the Armenian-Georgian or Armenian-Russian border, but about the border between the two partner countries. In this regard, we wish to minimize our comments and our intervention in the process, "he said.Recall that the only land route connecting Armenia with Russia passes through the Upper Lars checkpoint. The problems of truck accumulation in the winter season, and passenger cars in the summer, connected both with the carrying capacity of the customs point and icy conditions, heavy rains and landslides on the Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Lars highway, became "weekdays" for Armenian carriers. In this regard, in parallel there is talk about the prospect of opening an alternative road.February 4th of this year. the Kommersant newspaper interviewee for Kommersant in the Russian government said that Moscow and Tbilisi had completed the procedures necessary to implement the 2011 agreement on the principles of the customs administration mechanism and the monitoring of trade in goods.
The agreement was signed in Geneva on November 9, 2011. This is part of the package of documents concluded in the process of Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). It allows the use of the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia for trade and transit of goods. Now, according to a Kommersant source, the formalities have been settled and the launch of an agreed mechanism for customs administration and monitoring of trade does not prevent anything from happening. Swiss Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS), one of the world leaders in the field of inspection services, expertise, testing and certification, will monitor the flow of goods and their marking. Georgia signed a contract with SGS in 2017, and Russia - in 2018. Representatives of the company should appear at the Russian and Georgian customs terminals at the entrance to the trade corridors and at the exit from them. The exact geographical coordinates of the corridors are recorded in the 2011 agreement.It is assumed that the so-called Abkhaz corridor will be served by terminals located in Adler and south of the Inguri river, South Ossetian - in Alagir and in the vicinity of Gori, and the Russian-Georgian corridor - in Vladikavkaz and in the Kazbegi region (Georgian Military Road). According to the agreements, SGS employees start work after contributions from the Russian Federation and Georgia are received for their work. Russia made the payment in June 2018. The Georgian side paid for the work of the Swiss company last November.
The amount of contracts with SGS is not disclosed. As Kommersant found out, in the Russian case the issue price is about 5 millionSwiss francs per year. Georgian contribution is the same. The parties will determine the deadline for the start of the monitoring at a meeting of the joint committee established in accordance with the 2011 agreement. It was reported that the Committee will meet for the first time in Switzerland on February 6. Zurab Abashidze, special representative of the Georgian Prime Minister for relations with Russia, confirmed to Kommersant that the preparation for the implementation of the agreement has been completed.