Armenia does not comment on negotiations between Georgia and the  Russian Federation on the opening of the road alternative to Upper  Lars

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.