ArmInfo. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan constantly talks about establishing peace with Azerbaijan, while he cannot even ensure the unimpeded passage of Armenian trucks through Georgian checkpoints to the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The head of the RPA youth wing, Henrikh Danielyan, announced this in a video message on his Facebook account.
As the head of the youth wing recalled, exports began to be hindered at the border of Russia and Georgia. There, according to him, they began to demand a certain amount from Armenian exporters to pass the checkpoint. Meanwhile, not a single representative of the Armenian state bodies, as Danielyan noted, began to deal with this problem and did not take any steps in this direction. "Armenian trucks have been standing idle for several days now and cannot pass through any of the EAEU member countries. It is obvious that all of this is the result of the inglorious work of the Armenian authorities. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is essentially doing everything to make life difficult for his citizens," Danielyan believes.
He also drew attention to the fact that this is an additional burden for truck drivers, since every day is an ever-increasing amount that will have to be deducted from their salaries. "Truck drivers cannot afford such expenses, and in addition to renting trucks, pay the Georgian side for passing the checkpoint," noted a member of the RPA youth wing.
The politician drew attention to the fact that this is essentially a transit zone, and such problems are artificially created and should have been resolved long ago. "We are a state, which means the government should have dealt with this problem. There are people who are obliged to deal with these issues.
Let me remind you that during the Russian-Georgian war, citizens crossed the road without hindrance. But today, our citizens have been left alone with this problem, and no one even tells them what they should do in this situation. Moreover, there is no one who would inform them that they have every right to cross this road without any payment," Danielyan complained.
In connection with the above, he asked a rhetorical question about how the Armenian authorities are going to control the roads that will open with Turkey and Azerbaijan, if they cannot even ensure communication with Russia and other countries of the EAEU, or properly pass through the Georgian checkpoint. "And this is despite the fact that 80% of our products are exported to Russia. This will all deal a major blow to our economy, and even more so to security, including economic security, since today this is the only road along which our goods are sent to the EAEU countries," Danielyan summed up.
Recall that today the only land route connecting Armenia through Georgia with Russia is the road through the Upper Lars checkpoint.
The day before, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexey Overchuk said that by the end of this year the volume of mutual trade between Armenia and the Russian Federation will decrease by almost half.