Georgia and Russia have reached a deal to open a border crossing that has been closed for three years, Georgia said Thursday, marking a significant thaw in diplomatic relations since last year's war between the two countries.
The Verkhny Lars crossing is expected to open next March after an agreement was reached during Swiss-brokered talks Wednesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze said.
Verkhny Lars is the only highway crossing between Russia and Georgia that does not go through the Kremlin-backed breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where most of the fighting was concentrated in the August 2008 war.
Russia has recognized both regions as independent states, but only Venezuela, Nicaragua and the South Pacific island nation of Nauru have followed its example. Georgia has fiercely protested, claiming that Russia is trying to annex the regions.
The opening would be the first concrete step in recent efforts to restore transport links between the two ex-Soviet neighbors.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said earlier this month that he saw no reason to keep the crossing closed or to ban direct flights between Russian and Georgia.
On Tuesday, the Georgian airline Airzena filed a plea with the Russian Transport Ministry to allow regular flights into Russia to resume and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov signaled Thursday that the application would be approved.
The closing of Verkhny Lars dealt a severe blow to Georgia's southern neighbor, Armenia, which was no longer able to receive direct overground transports of Russian goods through Georgia.
It has made it difficult for Russia to send supplies to its troops stationed in Armenia, and hurt private businesses on both sides of the border.
_____
Associated Press Writer Simon Shuster reported from Moscow.
No comments:
Post a Comment