"Fact" daily writes:
These days, some circles are trying to present the protest actions of Armenian cargo carriers as an anti-Russian wave or the beginning of a bilateral crisis. However, the facts show that the problem is not of a political nature, but of a technical nature, which has already found its solution. The main issue here is that, according to many experts, the Armenian authorities started the negotiations to resolve the issue late, when, as they say, "the knife reached the bone".
It should be reminded that the changes in the migration policy that came into force in October established a period of 90 days per year for non-citizens to stay in the territory of Russia. This rule applies to citizens of all countries that use the visa-free entry regime, including Armenia. However, the nature of Armenian cargo transportation is special. drivers stop for days in Upper Lars, travel thousands of kilometers in Russian territory, unload in vast areas, face technical delays, as a result of which the 90 days quickly expire, and after only six or seven trips, the driver faces the risk of an entry ban for up to 5 years.
Here, however, it is necessary to record the key circumstance. Russia has already accepted the problem and started the process of solving it. The Russian government has accepted Yerevan's justifications and is preparing a decision by which the period for Armenian drivers will be extended from 90 to 180 days.
The draft decision is already in the stage of systemic discussion and will be included in the agenda of the October 24 meeting of the EAEU. It should be noted that this approach is not unprecedented. Kazakhstan's drivers have already been completely freed from the 90-day restriction as a result of swift government negotiations.
This proves that Russia is ready for flexible solutions, Armenia just needed to respond to the problem correctly and on time. In addition, a working group has been established within the framework of the EAEU, which collects and coordinates the problems of cargo carriers in order to transfer them to the Russian authorities and ensure a quick process of resolution.
Of course, protests are human. drivers protect their income. However, it is wrong and dangerous to transfer the problem to the field of Russian-Armenian political conflict. The Russian market continues to be the main field of work for Armenian freight forwarders, and the territory of Russia is their main source of income.
Temporary administrative problems should not disrupt this relationship, but should be resolved through partnership negotiations.
In the conversation with us, the experts mentioned that in this case we are not dealing with a political rift, but with a technical agreement, which is already in the process of being resolved.
