Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said the promises made to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan regarding the capacity of the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border have been strictly fulfilled.
"Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan asked for it, you and I in Sochi gave him promises, which were strictly fulfilled. Here I would like to thank the customs officers, who together with specialists from the Ministry of Transportation and other agencies took an active part so that all relevant issues related to the capacity of the Upper Lars were resolved," Mishustin said.
Ruslan Davydov, head of the Russian Federal Customs Service, said at a meeting with Mishustin that together with the Russian Ministry of Transportation, the Federal Security Service and the Russian Border Guard Service they plan to introduce so-called streaming inspection and screening system, which allow scanning more cargo and much faster customs control.
Davydov emphasized that record results were achieved at Upper Lars: some 31,622 trucks were let through in June, in July this pace is maintained and there are no queues.
"This is more than a thousand trucks a day. During the summer season from 3 thousand to 3.5 thousand passenger cars pass through the checkpoint and up to 15 thousand individuals," he said.
He also noted that the Armenian colleagues help the Russian side to coordinate the work with Georgian partners, with whom, in particular, there are agreements on how to submit cars to each other for control.
On June 15, some 15 new customs lanes were put into operation, raising their total number to 39 lines at the checkpoint, 12 of which are for trucks, 24 - for passenger cars, 2 - for passenger buses and 1 - for oversized cargo.
The only overland route connecting Armenia and Russia passes through the Upper Lars checkpoint. In summer when the number of trucks transporting fruits, vegetables, and other perishable goods to Russia increases dramatically, huge lines were formed at the border checkpoint, ARKA reports.
