The United States hopes Kazbegi-Zemo Larsi border crossing point on Georgia-Russia border will be reopened and the two countries “will be able to resume commercial and tourist links in the future,” the U.S. embassy in Tbilisi said.

The statement was made ahead of handing over of a modernized Kazbegi border crossing facility to the Georgian government on September 4.

Land traffic between the two countries was closed with the closure of Zemo Larsi border crossing point by Russia in July, 2006; two others are located in breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but they are considered by Georgia to be operating illegally and entry into Abkhazia and South Ossetia from those points is banned by the Georgian laws.

In May the Georgian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow notified Tbilisi about its readiness to reopen Kazbegi-Zemo Larsi border crossing point; but no progress on the matter was reported since then.

The United States allocated USD 2.4 million for adding more traffic lanes to the border crossing station, installing modern search equipment, and constructing offices and barracks for the co-located Georgian Patrol Police and Revenue Service, as well as for installing of radiation equipment to detect radioactive materials. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversaw the construction.

The Kazbegi border crossing point was modernized in frames of the U.S.-funded Georgia Border Security and Law Enforcement (GBSLE) assistance program aimed at helping Georgia to secure its borders, the U.S. embassy said.

A total of USD 5.75 million was spent in frames of this assistance program for modernization of three other main border crossing stations at Sadakhlo, on the Armenian border, and Red Bridge and Lagodekhi, on the Azeri border.