Russia / Georgia border

Russia and Georgia agreed to reopen the Verkhny Lars border crossing, 30 kilometers south of Vladikavkaz, Russia, in March. The Russia-Georgia border points were closed in July 2006 after a dispute over the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and this mountain pass is the only border crossing that does not go through either region.

Regular flights between the countries were stopped following military action over South Ossetia in 2008 and have not resumed, though a Georgian Airways’ charter flight from Tbilisi to Moscow was allowed on Jan. 8.