BISHKEK, November 27. /TASS/. The recent truck jams on the Russian-Kazakh border were due to the fight against illegal imports, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference following his visit to Kyrgyzstan.

"I won't hide the fact that, on my instructions, the Customs Committee — and within the EAEU our customs authorities have the right to do so — launched random roadside checks. It turned out that a significant amount of goods, and a significant number of these trucks, were crossing the Russian-Kazakh border without any documentation whatsoever. It's simply illegal imports," he said.

The Russian leader noted that Russia and Kazakhstan share a common customs area, a common market, and the free movement of capital and goods. However, despite this fact, each truck that crosses the border must have a specific set of documents agreed upon between the two countries. This must include documentation detailing what is in the truck, to whom the goods are being shipped, and the customs duties and VAT owed by those crossing the Russian border with these goods must be immediately clear.

The head of state stressed that such trucks are "simply rushing into the customs territory" of Russia.

"And the Russian Federation is losing, I dare say, billions, tens of billions of rubles in budget revenues," he noted.

Recently, a traffic jam of trucks formed on the Russian-Kazakh border. All of them were found to be transporting various goods without any documentation.