Passengers of detained bus transported to Armenia from Georgia

The Armenian passengers of a bus that was denied entry to Georgia after crossing the Upper Lars checkpoint from Russia are already being transported to Armenia, the Embassy of Armenia in Georgia said.  The backup bus picked up the passengers and left the checkpoint at 07:00, June 25.

An Armenian passenger bus traveling from Russia was stopped by Georgian authorities at the Upper Lars checkpoint on June 24 after entering the Georgian side. The Upper Lars border checkpoint is located at the Russia-Georgia border and is used by Armenians as land communication to travel from/into Russia via Georgia.

The bus was denied entry for “transporting a banned item”. The bus is owned by an Armenian transportation company. The “banned item” was reportedly discovered in the possession of the driver.

Shortly afterwards the travel company owning the bus sent a back-up vehicle to pick up the passengers.