A large-scale congestion on the border between Russia and Georgia is  a purely technical problem, says Suren Papikyan

ArmInfo.Accumulations of cars on the border of Russia and Georgia from Upper  Lars are exclusively a technical problem, and are not the result of inaction of the Armenian  or Russian authorities. This was in the course of the business forum  on economic development of the border regions of Armenia organized by  the Union of Armenians of Russia in Moscow, Minister of Territorial  Administration and Development Suren Papikyan said.

Thousands of vehicles, the minister said, now cross the Armenian-Georgian, and  then the Georgian-Russian border, which is the main cause of serious  congestion.

As the correspondent of ArmInfo informs, Papikyan assured that the  relevant departments of Armenia are engaged in the settlement of this  problem hourly and daily. The Minister also expressed his gratitude  to the Russian side for assistance in timely delivery of the Armenian  harvest to the Russian market.

The minister called the absence of a direct rail link between Armenia  and Russia the main obstacle to more effective economic interaction,  while assuring at the same time that Armenia is currently negotiating  with partners from Russia and Georgia: "I am full of hope that in the  foreseeable future we will find a compromise solution . Preliminary  arrangements are already available.

Touching upon the issues of selling agricultural products, the  minister assured that this year in the conditions of high apricot  yield, there were no problems with the sale of the villagers,  moreover, apricots are successfully sold on foreign markets.

To note, the delegation led by the Minister of Territorial  Administration and Development of the Republic of Armenia Suren  Papikyan on July 7 paid a two-day visit to Moscow to participate in  the business forum on economic development of the border settlements  of Armenia, organized by the Union of Armenians of Russia.  Immediately after the forum, the Armenian delegation visited the  multi-national holiday "Apricot", annually held by the Union of  Armenians of Russia. This year the mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin  visited the festival. It should be recalled that the former  military-Georgian road through Verkhny Lars checkpoint since the  beginning of the 1990s was the only ground route providing Armenia's  connection with Russia. The need to create an alternative road has  been said for a long time. As an alternative, requiring a political  solution for the countries of the region, there are ways that link  Georgia and Russia through the conflict zones - South Ossetia and  Abkhazia. Representatives of Russia and Georgia on May 24 in Prague  reached an agreement that for the customs control of goods on the  territory of Abkhazia and South Ossetia a tripartite commission will  be formed, which will include representatives of Georgia, Russia and  the Swiss company SGS. Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan  wrote about this on his Facebook page. "In case of implementation of  the agreement, we will have alternative ways of transporting goods in  cases when the road through" Upper Lars "will be closed," Avinyan  said. He also noted that the conversation on this topic was still on  May 14 at the meeting of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan with Russian  President Vladimir Putin in Sochi. As ArmInfo reported earlier, on  December 22, 2017, the Georgian Foreign Ministry signed a contract  with the Swiss company SGS, which will monitor cargo transportation  between Russia, Georgia and Armenia through Abkhazia and South  Ossetia. According to the document, alternative military-Georgian  road transport corridors can be used under force majeure  circumstances. When exactly new corridors will work, it is not clear  yet.