ArmInfo. Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technologies of Armenia Vahan Martirosyan believes in the prospect of opening alternative to "Upper Lars" communications through the territory of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. "I believe that someday the project will be implemented", responding to the question of ArmInfo, the head of the Armenian Ministry of Transport stated on July 13 after the meeting of the government.
According to the minister, in order to promote the project, one must believe in it. "Together, Russia and Georgia hope that soon the alternative to "Upper Lars" will become valid," he said. Armenia is not involved in the process, and it can not be, since the issue is in the sphere of Russian-Georgian relations, only Switzerland can become a third party. More precisely, the Swiss company SGS, which will monitor the movement of goods from Russia to Georgia and back through the "trade corridors" across the territory of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
The fact that within the framework of the meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin and the Special Representative of the Prime Minister of Georgia, Ambassador Zurab Abashidze, is scheduled to conclude consultations on the implementation of the 2011 Agreement on Trade Corridors between Russia and Georgia through the former Georgian autonomies - Abkhazia and South Ossetia "The head of the Ministry of Transport of Armenia was informed. In addition, being in constant contact with the Russian and Georgian counterparts, the minister noted the willingness of the parties to implement the treaty. At the same time, Vahan Martirosyan is not sure that the 100% project will become a reality. "There is a desire of the parties, which means - someday there will be a result," he said, emphasizing: "in our time" for sure. On the eve of the Russian edition of Kommersant reported that representatives of Moscow and Tbilisi agreed to proceed with the implementation of the 2011 Agreement on Trade Corridors between Russia and Georgia through the former Georgian autonomies - Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It is noteworthy that in January this year. Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan called to think about alternative routes. It was noteworthy that the Armenian side decided to return to this topic immediately after the visit of the Armenian government delegation to Moscow. Meanwhile, Vahan Martirosyan earlier called for not considering the South Ossetian option as an alternative, saying that such a barrier exists in the process as "political circumstances."
To recall, the Upper Lars checkpoint, located on the Russian border, and from the Georgian side, the Daryal checkpoint, since the beginning of the 1990s, has become the only land transportation route providing communication between Armenia and Russia, the checkpoint is periodically closed - in winter due to avalanches and in the spring - due to mudflows. The Georgian side has done a lot of work to modernize the road and ensure traffic safety. Gagik Beglaryan, the former Minister of Transport and Communications, said in the summer of 2016 that it is possible to open the road through the territory of South Ossetia: "The road is in good condition, negotiations are being held synchronously with both Tbilisi and Moscow, but very little depends on Armenia. "As is known, the Armenian side has repeatedly raised the issue of the possibility of opening an Abkhazian section of the railway in talks, both with the Georgian and with the Russian side. But these efforts were also unsuccessful.