Number of cars waiting to cross Russia-Georgia border rises to 5,500

Some 5,500 cars, including 3,600 passenger cars, are expected to pass through the Russian-Georgian border in North Ossetia, the Interior Ministry in the region has said.

"A total of 3,600 passenger cars on the territory of the republic [are waiting for passage across the border]. As well as 1,900 transit heavy trucks in the region, 600 of them at the checkpoint," TASS reports an unnamed interlocutor as saying on September 27.

On September 26, North Ossetia Deputy Prime Minister Irbek Tomayev reported that 3,500 cars had accumulated at the border, and the total number of transit vehicles on the roads of the republic was 4,891.

Earlier on September 27, the region's Interior Ministry informed journalists that a visiting meeting was held at the Upper Lars checkpoint with the participation of the North Ossetian interior minister, the head of the State Traffic Inspectorate, the heads of the border department of the Russian Federal Security Service for Alania-North Ossetia and the North Ossetian Customs Office.

To organise the safety of citizens, as well as to reduce the risks of illegal behaviour and conflict situations, according to the results of the meeting, the participants decided to allow citizens to cross the border on foot, and several further measures were planned in terms of law enforcement and road safety. In particular, a mobilisation point of the military enlistment office will be deployed at the checkpoint in the near future.