‘The reason is simple: the road is closed for Armenians’ – Report from Armenian Drivers

Armenian drivers with trucks have been stranded for about 10 days on the road to Lars, with no justification provided for their situation. Taron Margaryan, one of the drivers, shared this information with NEWS.am.

He explained that around 200 trucks are currently stuck on this road. 'We are not allowed to move forward. The reason given is simple: the road is closed for Armenians. In front of our eyes, vehicles with Georgian and Azerbaijani license plates are passing, while we are prohibited from crossing,' he said.

The drivers have learned that they will remain there for another week. 'This is a deliberate act to blockade Armenia. There is a person who has been stuck here for 10 days,' he noted. He mentioned that the Armenian Ambassador to Georgia had also visited the site a few days ago to discuss the situation with a regular police officer before departing.

The drivers have contacted the hotline of the Ministry of High-Tech Industry, receiving a response directing truck owners to solve the issue themselves. 'We are considering blocking the road as well to create a conflict and draw the attention of our country’s authorities. Where is our state, where is our support?' they expressed.

Later, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure announced that the Russian side had begun construction works at the Lars checkpoint, which, according to preliminary information, will be completed in December 2022. 'Due to construction works, traffic at the Lars checkpoint has partially been disrupted. However, according to the Russian government’s resolution No. 1576 dated September 18, 2021, starting from October 18, it is allowed to conduct border control at two other checkpoints in addition to Upper Lars until the completion of construction,' the statement read.

The first checkpoint is located in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, near Upper Lars, and the second checkpoint is in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia-Alania, in the Lars region. It is noted that after the completion of construction initiated by the Russian side, significant improvements in operations at the Lars checkpoint are expected, aiming to avoid accumulations of freight vehicles. Specifically, it is planned to increase the current daily capacity of 300 vehicles to 3,500 vehicles, nearly a tenfold increase in road capacity,' the ministry's announcement concluded.