Civil Georgia, Georgia
Oct 22 2004
Russo-Georgian Border Reopened
/ Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 2004-10-22 15:37:04
Reports say that Russia reopened its border with Georgia at the
Larsi checkpoint on October 22, after an almost two-month closure
following the Beslan hostage-taking tragedy in Russia’s North
Ossetian Republic in early September.
`Starting today the Larsi checkpoint will work at full capacity. The
Georgian Foreign Ministry and the Border Guard Department have
received relevant notes from Russia regarding the opening of the
checkpoint,’ Chairman of the Georgian Border Guard Department Badri
Bitsadze said on October 22.
The Larsi checkpoint, which is the only land border with Georgia
under Tbilisi’s control, was reopened only 4 times since September.
Closure of the border hit the revenues of the Georgian customs
department hard and also triggered concerns from Armenia, as the
Larsi checkpoint is the only land link with Russia for Armenian
citizens.
Russian media reported that Russia also lifted restrictions at the
Russian-Azerbaijani border on October 22.