Almost 100 cars from Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan got stuck at Upper Lars border checkpoint, RAILVNESHTRANS forwarding company told ARKA on Tuesday.

“Trucks got stuck in traffic at Upper Lars. People have been trapped for already several days without food and water. Border guards say such situation emerged as the checkpoint is shifting to winter schedule. The thing is that in summer cars could pass the border till 10 PM, and now till 19:00 (7 PM) only. That is why the issue emerged,” according to the source.

The company said it takes a couple of minutes to pass a passport control, and the traffic jam appeared due to the slow operation of the checkpoint.

The checkpoint workers say cars can pass the checkpoint from 7:00 to 18:00, which is not really enough. Moreover, the number of border crossing cars has increased deteriorating the issue.

The border guards say the most rational solution to the issue is to make the checkpoint operate 7/24 or increase the “check out” hours. The issue is already being discussed by the federal customs service and border department of the Russian Federation.

“They can’t say as of now when the changes will be put into the checkpoint operation, but most likely it will happen next year,” the source states.
ARKA agency has submitted a request to the Ministry of Transport and Communication of Armenia for further details.

Upper Lars is the only land border crossing that does not go through Georgia's Russian-backed breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It serves as Armenia’s sole overland route to the former Soviet states and Europe.
 

منبع: خبرگزاری Armania News