Do Not Return to Armenia via Georgia, Citizens Urged

According to an agreement reached between the governments of Armenia and Georgia, freight transportation between the two countries is ongoing without interruption. This was stated by the spokesperson of the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anna Naghdalyan.

“In recent days, the MFA of Armenia, as well as the diplomatic representations of Armenia in Georgia and Russia, have repeatedly reported that due to adverse weather conditions, the Gudauri-Kobi section of the Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Lars highway remains closed,” said Anna Naghdalyan.

According to her, it has been declared that the entry of Armenian citizens into the territory of Georgia is prohibited through all routes (Armenian-Georgian, Russian-Georgian, Turkish-Georgian borders, as well as by air and sea routes).

“We inform you that there are traffic jams of trucks at both the Armenian-Georgian (Bagratashen-Sadakhlo) and Russian-Georgian (Verin Lars-Kazbegi) border areas, as well as various sections of the Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Lars highway. Additionally, the crossing of trucks heading to Russia, as well as those traveling from Russia to Armenia, has currently been halted at Verin Lars and the Armenian-Georgian border due solely to heavy snowfall. As soon as the road opens, trucks will be able to cross the Armenian-Georgian and Russian-Georgian borders,” she added.

“Despite our appeals, there are currently Armenian citizens wishing to cross the Russian side of the Verin Lars checkpoint. Considering that the road will not be opened before the Georgian government’s decision prohibiting the entry of foreigners into Georgia comes into effect on 18.03.2020 at 00:00, we urge our citizens to return to their departure locations and, if possible, make use of the available air routes to Armenia, particularly from the nearby airports in Mineralnye Vody, Krasnodar, and Rostov-on-Don.”

“Once again, we urge our citizens to refrain from returning to Armenia through Georgia and to use exclusively air routes. We call on our citizens to soberly assess the situation,” the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized.