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Situation on Russia-Ukraine border normal

There are no long lines of trucks, and no freight vehicles at all

BELGOROD, January 30. /ITAR-TASS/. The situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border is stable. There are no long lines of trucks, the head of the Central Customs Department's press service, Yekaterina Anchiporova, told Itar-Tass on Thursday.

The customs service fully complies with the timeframe for customs operations, she said. The cargo transportation volumes even decreased in recent time due to the cold weather and political situation in Ukraine, Anchiporova noted.

On Wednesday, between 08:00 and 16:00 Moscow time, 210 vehicles crossed into Russia at the checkpoint of Nekhoteyevka in the Belgorod region. There were no freight vehicles at all, and no lines. During the time, 215 trucks were allowed to cross into Ukraine, the official said.

Changes in customs procedure for cargoes delivered to Russia have no effect on border crossing, she noted. Even if customs officers decide to examine one vehicle out of 200, there must be serious reasons for it, she added.

There is no examination of all the vehicles. It can be seen online from checkpoints, the said.

Media reported on Wednesday, referring to the Association of International Road Carriers of Ukraine, that it may take 10-15 days to pass through the customs. It may be recurrence of the August 2013 situation when control was tightened up over cargoes of almost all Ukrainian exporters. Ukrainian companies stated at the time that their deliveries to the Russian market were factually blocked.

The customs official's statement denies a possibility of such a situation.