The Messenger, Georgia
July 10 2006
Russia closes the border for ‘repairs’
Russian border closure angers Georgia, but Armenia could suffer most
By Anna Arzanova
Russian border guards closed the Zemo-Larsi checkpoint late at
night on July 7. Georgian border police received this information
by fax later the same day. Officially, ongoing repair works taking
place at the crossing are the reason for the closure; however, as no
information has been released as to how long these repairs will last,
some in Georgia think that the closure is a political move.
According to the head of the Border Protection Service, Koba
Bochorishvili, the Zemo-Larsi checkpoint has been closed for repairs
for an unspecified time, and that "Russian citizens will also have
problems as well as Georgians, as both sides use this checkpoint."
In a telephone conversation with Rustavi-2 Saturday, the president’s
representative in Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, Vasil Maghlaperidze,
said that Russians have closed the border "without any explanations,
they do not let or people cross the border."
"As a reason they name alleged repair works, but this is an absolute
lie. This is against all international norms. They unexpectedly closed
the border like this in Berlin as well," Maghlaperidze stated in a
reference to the Berlin blockade of 1948. He said that he and other
high-ranking officials visited the Zemo-Larsi checkpoint and made
every effort to clarify matters but "it seems that an absolutely
horrible situation has been created here."
Maghlaperidze noted that a vehicle backlog has been created at the
border, and that the police have been advising drivers approaching
the checkpoint about the ongoing situation.
The president’s representative said that, in unofficial talks, the
Russian side told him that the Zemo-Larsi checkpoint might be closed
for a month or twenty days. "So, they are waiting for the instructions
from above.
"It is absolutely obvious to me that the border was closed for
political reasons," Maghlaperidze noted.
Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli, while attending a business forum
in Batumi, commented on the incident. He argued that Armenia would
suffer from this closure even more than Georgia, Armenia’s borders
to both Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed, meaning that Georgia is a
vital link to the outside. Noghaideli ordered the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs to contact their Russian colleagues to try to find out concrete
reasons for the closure of the Zemo-Larsi checkpoint.
"Such an unexpected closure of border without any agreements, due
to alleged repair or rehabilitation works never takes place in a
normal situation. By the way, I want to stress that practically, all
exports from Georgia to Russia have been interrupted by this action,
Armenia has been damaged from the economic standpoint," Noghaideli
told journalists in Batumi July 8.
Noghaideli said that he has informed Armenian Prime Minister, who
also took part in the business forum, about this incident and hoped
that Armenia would also appropriately react to it.
Soon after Noghaideli’s statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
held a press conference about the issue. Speaking at the briefing
Saturday, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Merab Antadze confirmed
that Georgian border guards received information about the closure
by fax at midnight July 8.
"I would like to mention that, in 1993, Georgia and Russia signed an
agreement on the rules concerning founding, functioning and blocking
of checkpoints. It is indicated in the agreement that both sides
have to inform each other about any closures three months ahead,"
Antadze said at the press conference.
The statement, posted on the ministry’s website on July 8, says the
acting Russian ambassador was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Georgia and was handed a protest note.
"Georgia has not received any appropriate notification. The Russian
side informed us two hours before the closure of the checkpoint, as
a result of which the situation at the checkpoint is difficult. The
Georgian side assesses this action of the Russian side as a violation
of their responsibilities, and expresses its protest in this regard. We
demand the obligatory fulfillment of the agreement and immediate
presentation of the deadline of the completion of the repair works,"
the protest note reads.