RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: UPPER LARS-KAZBEGI CHECKPOINT WILL BE REOPENED FROM MARCH 1
PanARMENIAN.Net
25.02.2010 15:34 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed
hope that Upper Lars-Kazbegi border control checkpoint, the only road
link between Russia and Georgia, would be reopened from March 1.
"I hope the border checkpoint, which has already been brought into
appropriate condition on both sides, will become operational again
from March 1," Lavrov stated.
"Russia is also ready to restart regular air services with
Georgia," Foreign Minister said on Thursday, reminding that Russia’s
Transportation Ministry allowed the Georgian Airways airline to run
charter flights between the two capitals in early January.
Lavrov reiterated Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s pledge that
Russia would not engage in dialogue Saakashvili, but said this
did not mean Russia would avoid broader contacts with Georgia, RIA
Novosti reported.
Upper Lars-Kazbegi crossing was closed in July 2006.
The border checkpoint was formally reopened last May, but the lack
of diplomatic ties between Russia and Georgia means it remains for
all intents and purposes non-functioning.
In the end of 2009, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei
Nesterenko stated that reopening of Upper Lars – Kazbegi checkpoint
is expected on March 1, 2010.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
