Azerbaijani truck drivers stranded at Georgian border as inquiry sent to Foreign Ministry

A group of Azerbaijani truck (TIR) drivers transiting through the territory of Georgia state that they have been stranded at customs checkpoints for days, and that no official explanation has been given to them regarding the reason for their detention.

The Georgian bureau of Report has investigated the situation.

The drivers say they have been waiting for a long time mainly at the Sarp and Red Bridge border crossing points, as well as at the Customs Clearance Center in Tbilisi.

According to driver Teymur Sultanov, he did not face any problems while moving towards Batumi. However, his vehicle was stopped at the Sarp border crossing point, and his passport, driver's license, and other documents were taken.

"I have been in the customs area for 15 days now. They just tell us to 'wait'. When we ask for the reason, they do not answer. No one explains what problem there is with the documents, the cargo, or the weight," the driver stated.

Another driver facing a similar problem, Eldaniz Mammadliyev, says he has been in Georgia for more than a month now. According to him, while transporting a chemical substance produced in Kutaisi and used in the iron industry to Azerbaijan, he was first detained at customs for three days and then taken to another checkpoint.

"They completely dismantled the truck, took all my documents, my passport, and my phone. Then, without giving any explanation, they said, 'you can go'. I asked where I should go, and they answered, 'we don't know'," the driver stated.

Mammadliyev noted that his passport was returned only after 20 days, and during this time his vehicle remained dismantled, and he was forced to spend the nights on the street.

"If the problem is in the cargo, unload the cargo and let me go. But no one explains anything. Currently, I have been in Georgia for 43-45 days," he emphasized.

Drivers Bahadur Aliyev and Iman Aliyev also state that they have been waiting for days due to the prolongation of the customs clearance process in Batumi. According to them, no official explanation regarding the reason for their detention was given to them either.

"We have been waiting in Batumi for several days now. There is no one to tell us when we will be released. We only get the answer to 'wait'," said Bahadur Aliyev.

Iman Aliyev said that all documents have been submitted, but no one explains what the problem is.

According to the drivers, several cargo vehicles with Azerbaijani registration plates have also been detained at the Red Bridge border crossing point. According to their statement, customs officers later demanded a special permit document from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia. The drivers state that the document was provided, but later a Georgian translation of the document was requested.

Cargo owner Sahib Aliyev, in his statement to the local bureau of Report, said that the permit document in question was issued in 2023 by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, and until now, hundreds of cargo vehicles with the same documents have passed through the territory of Georgia without hindrance. According to him, the same product was transported in transit without any problems in March and April of this year, as well as in October and December of last year.

"I believe that the current situation arose as a result of not checking the documents on time and a bureaucratic misunderstanding," Aliyev stated.

Another issue concerning the drivers is the attitude of the customs officers. According to them, despite waiting for days, no official information is given about the reason for their detention, and when they ask questions, some employees behave rudely, sufficing with the answer "Go, wait".

The drivers believe that the reason why they are detained and what documents or procedures are required to resolve the problem should be clearly explained to them.

In connection with the issue, the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Georgia informed the local bureau of Report that the incident has been taken under control. The embassy noted that a diplomatic inquiry has been sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Georgia regarding the current situation, and the matter is being investigated together with the relevant state bodies.

This is not the first case regarding the long-term detention of Azerbaijani cargo vehicles transiting through the territory of Georgia at customs. However, according to the drivers, this time the prolongation of the waiting period, the lack of official explanation, and the uncertainty create more serious concerns compared to previous cases.