Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

Russia has begun restoration work on the Dagestan section of the Russian-Georgian road which was closed in 1992, the Ministry of Transport of Dagestan said.

According to the ministry's spokesman, Andrey Bondarev, the ministry has already made the decision on the rehabilitation of the road and economic evaluation is currently underway.

Bondarev is almost confident that the construction work will start soon and in the initial phase the road to the Georgian border will be restored. He is unaware whether or not a border checkpoint will be placed on the road.

Georgia's Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure David Narmania does not have any official information about the restoration of the road. According to Narmania, from the Georgian side a special commission has to discuss the issue if such an initiative is made.

"There are some criteria that are important for decision-making: how intensive the traffic is, who the initiator is, what is the cost and duration of the project," Narmania said. "According to its classification and purpose, the road is a municipal one, so, the issue should be put forward by the municipality."

Earlier, Georgia and Russia resumed international automobile communication. The sides exchanged 500 permits for transportation of goods in 2013, which will allow Georgia to transport cargo toward Russia. In addition, the sides agreed to exchange permits for the transportation of commodities to a third country. Resumption of a regular bus service between the cities of Russia and Georgia, which was suspended in 2006, was also agreed upon.

Overland transportation between Russia and Georgia was also interrupted and the visa regime between the two countries was introduced in 2006. However, in accordance with the decree of the Georgian President, the visa regime with Russia was canceled unilaterally on February 29, 2012. According to the decree, the Russians can enter the territory of Georgia without a visa and reside in the country for 90 days.