Russian transit trucks will be able to move acros Ukraine's territory without restrictions from February 25 / Photo from UNIAN
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has supported the proposal of the Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry and green-lighted transit traffic of Russian trucks via Ukrainian territory from February 25.
The Interior Ministry and the National Guard were instructed to ensure safety of transit trucks, according to a Cabinet decision taken at its meeting on Wednesday, February 24.
"They [the Russian side] have unblocked [transit traffic] for us, and we're doing the same according to the principle of reciprocity. And a protocol resolution obliges that safety of transit freight should be ensured. It has been passed," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.
Infrastructure Minister Andriy Pyvovarsky, who was also present at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, said that transit traffic had been limited in Ukraine as a result of restrictions introduced by Russia on Ukrainian freight flows.
"But transit means no limitations and no borders… Russia's Transport Ministry officially offered to lift all the restrictions the Russian Transport Ministry had previously introduced against Ukrainian trucks. We're ready to re-validate temporary permits and let the transit traffic, which had virtually been blocked for the past 10 days, resume via Ukraine's territory as of 00:00 local time on February 25," Pyvovarsky said.
He also informed about a meeting between his ministry and the Association of International Road Carriers of Ukraine (AsMAP) on February 23 when the sides agreed on full and urgent resumption of transit traffic of vehicles across Ukraine.
As UNIAN reported, Ukrainian public activists on February 11 started blocking movement of Russian trucks leaving Ukraine and heading towards international borders. The rally spread to 10 Ukrainian regions. In response, the Russian government banned Ukrainian truck traffic in Russia on February 14, after which the Ukrainian government temporarily as of February 15 invalidated transit permits issued to trucks with Russian number plates.
Later, the sides started negotiations and on February 16 they agreed to unblock truck traffic both in Russia and Ukraine for the period from February 16 to February 25.
As of February 23, about 1,500 stranded Ukrainian trucks returned home from Russia and from Asian countries via Russian territory, according to the AsMAP.