Roki Tunnel
The Roki Tunnel (also Roksky Tunnel) is a road tunnel through the Greater Caucasus Mountains, joining North Ossetia-Alania in the Russian Federation to South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia. The road is manned at the town of Nizhny Zaramag in North Ossetia and is sometimes referred to as the Roki-Nizhny Zaramag border crossing.
The tunnel, completed by the Soviet authorities in 1985, is one of only a handful of routes that cross the North Caucasus Range. It is at about 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) altitude and its length is 3,660 meters. [1] The other routes between Georgia and Russia include the Kazbegi-Verkhni Lars customs checkpoint on the Georgian Military Road, closed since June 2006 [2], and the Gantiadi-Adler crossing in the Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia which Georgia believes to function illegally [3].
The tunnel has been important throughout the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. The South Ossetian authorities use tolls levied on tunnel traffic as one of their main sources of revenue. The Georgian government - backed by the United States - has long called for the Georgian side of the tunnel to be placed under the control of international monitors, rather than the South Ossetian separatists and Russian peacekeeping forces [4]. Since the Russian authorities blocked the Kazbegi-Verkhni Lars customs checkpoint in June 2006 the Roki Tunnel has been the only available road route from Russia to Georgia. The tunnel is being used as a supply route during the 2008 South Ossetia War.[5]
See also
References
- ^ "Structurae.de: Roki Tunnel". Structurae.de. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ http://groups.msn.com/justicefornorthcaucasus/osetia.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=12992 (accessed 2008-8-10)
- ^ http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?idr=527&id=688852 (accessed 2008-8-10)
- ^ "Georgian rebel region evacuates children after deadly clashes". Channel NewsAsis. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
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Evans, Michael (2008-08-11). "Georgia: Reckless Saakashvili took on Russian Goliath Putin". Times Online. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
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