Truck drivers from Azerbaijan complained about delays when entering Georgia.

A group of Azerbaijani truck drivers transiting through Georgia has been unable to complete customs clearance for several weeks. The drivers claim that they have not been provided with official explanations for the delays at the customs points. The Azerbaijani embassy has sent a request to the Georgian side for clarification of the situation.

According to the drivers, they have been waiting for a resolution at the border points "Sarpi" and "Red Bridge," as well as at the Customs Clearance Center in Tbilisi.

According to driver Teymur Sultanov, the trip to Batumi went without any problems. However, at the "Sarpi" checkpoint, his vehicle was detained, and his passport, driver's license, and other documents were confiscated, reports the Georgian bureau Report.

"I have been on the customs territory for 15 days. They only tell us: 'Wait.' When I ask for the reason, they do not respond. No one explains what the problem is - whether it's with the documents, the cargo, or the weight," he reported.

Another driver, Eldeniz Mamedliyev, faced a similar problem and has been in Georgia for over a month. He was transporting a chemical substance produced in Kutaisi, used in the metallurgical industry, to Azerbaijan. Initially, he was detained at customs for three days and then redirected to another point.

"They completely disassembled the truck, took all the documents, passport, and phone. Then, without any explanation, they said: 'You can go.' I asked: where? They replied: 'We don't know,'" Mamedliyev recounted.

He noted that his passport was returned only after 20 days, during which time the truck remained disassembled, and he had to sleep on the street. "If the problem is with the cargo - unload it and let me go. But no one explains anything. I have been in Georgia for about 45 days now," he emphasized.

Drivers Bahadur Aliyev and Iman Aliyev also reported that they have been waiting in Batumi for several days due to prolonged customs clearance. According to them, they are also not given official explanations regarding the reasons for the detention.

"We have been waiting in Batumi for several days. No one says when we will be released. They only respond: 'Wait,'" said Bahadur Aliyev.

According to the drivers, several trucks with Azerbaijani license plates are also detained at the "Red Bridge" border crossing. They learned that customs officials subsequently required a special permit from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia. The drivers claim that this document was provided, but after that, they were asked to translate it into Georgian.

The cargo owner, Sahib Aliyev, reported that the specified permit was issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia back in 2023, and until now, hundreds of trucks have passed through Georgia with the same documents without any issues. According to him, this same cargo was transported in transit without 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 due to untimely document checks and bureaucratic confusion," Aliyev noted.

Another reason for the drivers' dissatisfaction was the behavior of the Georgian customs officials. Despite the long wait, the drivers are not provided with official information, and their questions are sometimes met with rudeness, limited to the phrase: 'Go and wait.'

The drivers state that they should be clearly explained the reason for the detention and what documents or procedures are required to resolve the issue.

The Azerbaijani embassy in Georgia reported that the situation is under control. The diplomatic mission noted that they sent a request to the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the issue is being studied jointly with the authorized state bodies.

The Revenue Service of Georgia commented on the information that truck drivers with Azerbaijani registration numbers cannot cross the customs checkpoints of Georgia, Interpressnews reports.

"The movement of goods in all directions through the checkpoints is carried out without hindrance... This case is being studied," the agency's response stated.

Later, the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia reported that Georgian customs officials had intercepted an attempt to transit a sanctioned cargo of European origin from Turkey to Russia by an Azerbaijani carrier, writes the publication Nesgeorgia.

According to the agency, the incident occurred on July 24 at the "Sarpi" checkpoint with a truck driven by a citizen of Azerbaijan entering from Turkey. During the document check, customs officials established that the cargo was produced in the EU and was heading to the Russian Federation. Based on the EU sanctions, the truck was turned around and sent back to Turkish territory.

After a few hours, the same vehicle attempted to cross the border again. This time, the driver presented a new certificate of origin, claiming that the goods were allegedly manufactured in Turkey. However, during the inspection, customs officials discovered the actual countries of manufacture on the factory labels - Germany and Croatia. Due to suspicion of document forgery and an attempt to circumvent sanction control, the case materials were transferred to the Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance. The specific goods in question are not specified.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that in October 2025, Brussels appealed to Tbilisi with a request to exclude the possibility of re-exporting goods to Russia, the list of which was also sent to the Georgian authorities. The corresponding letter, signed by the special representative for sanctions David O'Sullivan, was sent to Tbilisi.