Ambassador of Russia: There is no progress so far on the alternative  to the Verkhny Lars checkpoint

ArmInfo.There has been no   progress on the issue of an alternative to the Upper Lars checkpoint.  This was announced on June 11 during an online press conference by  Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin.

He stated that everything depends not only on Russia, and the  possibility of establishing communication through South Ossetia was  studied, but this is not a simple and sensitive issue related to the  position of the Georgian side.

At the same time, he added that the issue is related to the  implementation of the Russian-Georgian agreement of 2011 and the  clearance of customs cargo flow.  "There is nothing concrete so far.  However, the issue of transport communication is constantly on the  agenda of bilateral relations. The possibilities of ferry services  are also being discussed," the diplomat concluded.

Recall that through the Upper Lars checkpoint runs the only land  route connecting Armenia with Russia.  The problems of the  accumulation of trucks in the winter season, and cars in the summer,  related to both the throughput of the customs point and icy  conditions, showers and landslides on the Mtskheta-  Stepantsminda-Lars highway, became the "everyday life" of 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 source in the Russian  government told Kommersant that Moscow and Tbilisi had completed the  procedures necessary to put into practice the 2011 agreement .  The agreement was signed in Geneva  on November 9, 2011. This is part of the package of documents  concluded during 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 are settled and nothing prevents  the launch of an agreed mechanism for customs administration and  trade monitoring. Swiss Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS), one  of the world leaders in the field of inspection services,  examination, testing and certification, will monitor the flow of  goods and label them. Georgia signed a contract with SGS in 2017, and  Russia in 2018. Company representatives should appear at Russian and  Georgian customs terminals at the entrance to and exit from trade  corridors. The exact geographic coordinates of the corridors are  recorded in the 2011 agreement. It is assumed that the so-called  Abkhazian 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 Highway). According to  the agreements, SGS employees start work after contributions from  their Russian Federation and Georgia are received for their work.  Russia made a 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 million Swiss francs per year. Georgian  fee is the same. The parties will determine the deadline for the  start of monitoring at a meeting of a joint committee established in  accordance with the 2011 agreement. It was reported that the  Committee would meet for the first time in Switzerland on 6 February.  Special Representative of the Prime Minister of Georgia for Relations  with Russia Zurab Abashidze confirmed to Kommersant that preparations  for the implementation of the agreement have been completed.