Acting PM: Government of Armenia jointly with its Georgian partners  is working towards improving the situation at the Upper Lars  checkpoint 

ArmInfo.Armenian government jointly with Georgian partners is working towards  improving the situation at the Upper Lars checkpoint on the  Georgian-Russian border, Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol  Pashinyan stated on November 13 the parliament when discussing the  draft state budget for 2019.

According to him, in the matter of transport communications it is  important to ensure the entire cycle of transportation. In this  regard, discussions are being held with the South Caucasian Railway  aimed at increasing the company's efficiency as an alternative to  road transport. Another direction is related to the Abkhazian section  of the road, but in this matter Armenia is not a participant in the  negotiation process in which Georgia, Russia and the Swiss carrier  are involved. "However, we constantly raise this issue in order to  solve it successfully at all meetings and at all levels"the acting  head of the Armenian government stressed.

To note, the road in the direction of the Upper Lars is periodically  closed due to the deterioration of climatic conditions. Yesterday  there was again a multi-kilometer traffic jam 2 km at the checkpoint.  At the moment, it is the only operating highway connecting Georgia  and Armenia with Russia.Landslides, debris flows and floods also  create problems. For this reason, the Georgian authorities decided to  build a new section of the road along the Georgian-Russian border,  including a 9 km long tunnel. Construction of the Kvesheti-Kobi  section, located on the international road Mkhceta-Stepatsminda-Lars,  will reduce the travel time from Tbilisi to the Kazbegi checkpoint by  1 hour. The project plans to build a 22.7-kilometer asphalt road, six  bridges and five tunnels, including a nine-kilometer tunnel. Tunnel  will be dug under the Cross Pass - from the village of Zkere to the  village of Kobe. This tunnel will be the longest in Georgia. After  the project is completed, the problem of landslides and adverse  weather conditions will be completely resolved.

Earlier, ArmInfo reported that the authorities of Georgia and Russia  agreed to apply the agreement "On the basic principles of the  mechanism of customs administration and monitoring of trade."  Intermediaries at the negotiations between the Russian Federation and  Georgia were the authorities of Switzerland. Moscow and Tbilisi have  agreed to invite international mediators to control the flow of goods  and produce appropriate labeling. According to the document, the  basic principles of customs administration and monitoring of trade at  the Russian-Abkhaz border were regulated. The monitoring was to be  carried out by Swiss company SGS, whose authority would include the  provision of information on goods exported to Russia and imported  from Russia along the specified transport corridors.