Georgia sees no reasons to close border with Russia - interior minister

TBILISI. Sept 27 (Interfax) - While Georgia has taken measures to tighten control at its border crossings with Russia, it sees no reasons to close the border completely, Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri said.

"I can't understand it when one part of the opposition demands closing the border with Russia, and the other, on the contrary, to admit as many Russians as possible. We have no reasons to close the border with Russia," Gomelauri told journalists on Tuesday.

Georgia has taken measures to tighten control at its border checkpoints, including increasing the number of customs officers deployed there, he said.

"Russian citizens have visited Georgia for years, and therefore, we won't put obstacles to this process now," Gomelauri said.

About 10,000 Russians have been crossing the Georgian border daily in the past several days, he said.

"This is about 40%-45% more than before September 21, when about 6,000 Russians came to Georgia daily. Our opposition has cited absolutely wrong figures by claiming that the number of Russians staying in Georgia now varies from hundreds of thousands to two million," he said.

About 60% of Russians who have entered Georgia have already left the country, Gomelauri said.

It was reported on Monday that about 3,500 cars were queueing to cross the Russian-Georgian border through the Verkhny Lars checkpoint in North Ossetia.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry office for North Ossetia said the flow of cars moving toward Georgia from Russia was growing, and people were allowed to cross the border on foot. The Russian Defense Ministry is planning to set up a mobilization station at the checkpoint in the near future, it said.