Armenia has blocked the passage of its lorries to Georgia, citing congestion at Georgian checkpoints. The measure was taken amidst the ongoing unresolved issue surrounding the transit of Armenian brandy through Georgia.
On 5 June, after being effectively obstructed for weeks, 52 lorries carrying Armenian brandy were allowed to cross the Georgian border into Russia and Georgia has additionally ‘promised’ to resolve any issues regarding 72 more lorries carrying brandy ‘within the next five days’.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
Despite the Georgian side's promise to allow lorries through its borders, the issue still stands, as Armenia now is preventing lorries from crossing into Georgia.
On Tuesday, the Armenian State Revenue Committee stated that considering the ‘recent congestion’ at Georgian customs checkpoints, they ‘deemed it inadvisable’ for Armenian lorries to cross the Armenian–Georgian border.
Calling the chosen measure temporary, they stated that it was ‘initiated in favour of’ economic entities.
They also assured that in the event of ‘a prompt resolution of the congestion on the Georgian side, the proper passage of Armenian vehicles through the checkpoint will be organised’.
Armenian cargo has been subjected to inspections in Georgia since late April, effectively preventing the delivery of Armenian brandy to other countries through Georgian territory via the Lars checkpoint, the only open border crossing into Russia.
Armenian measures came following several aborted meetings between Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan and the Georgian authorities. Papoyan had previously described the situation as ‘very dangerous’ for Armenian businesses.
Following the measure, brandy producers are left in uncertainty about when the issue will be resolved, receiving no information from either Armenia or Georgia.
Proshyan Brandy Factory, one of the major brandy producers, claimed to have suffered around $100,000 in losses over the past two months, RFE/RL quoted the factory’s representative, Vahrij Minasyan as saying.
According to Minasyan, although 12 of their lorries that had been stuck at the Georgian customs checkpoint for nearly two months have already crossed the border and reached Russia, 15 more lorries are still awaiting passage through Georgia.
The ministry told RFE/RL that no formal inspections had taken place, making it difficult to predict whether they would recur, with media noting that the ministry’s response did not clarify whether the Georgian inspections were legal or not.
Meanwhile, earlier in June, Papoyan refrained from commenting on whether the issue had a political context, only saying that he intended to find a solution to the problem.
Armenian brandy-producing and exporting companies staged two protests in front of the Georgian Embassy in Yerevan. The meetings at the embassy went fruitless too, with the protesters stating that a consul at the embassy had suggested they ‘sue the Georgians in Georgia’.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
