VZCZCXYZ0005
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRA #0794/01 2971042
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY AD216378 UTS3844-695)
R 241042Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY RIGA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4461
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS RIGA 000794 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: ECON PBTS PREL ETRD EUN RS LG
SUBJECT: LONG TRUCK LINES LIKELY TO CONTINUE ALONG LATVIAN-RUSSIAN 
BORDER 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: A combination of factors, specifically, a 
significant increase in trade from the EU to Russia; a lack of 
action thus far to modernize and increase the capacity and 
efficiency of Russian checkpoint operations; and the lack of 
attractive alternative routes, have caused extended delays for truck 
drivers in recent months who have been forced to wait, sometimes 
more than three days, to transport goods from Latvia into Russia. 
Customs officials expect long delays, which began last year, to 
continue into the foreseeable future with the summer months and 
October to November experiencing peak traffic flows. Latvian 
officials in the near term are focusing efforts and resources on 
improving the conditions for truck drivers and local residents at 
the three major crossing points, Terehova, Grebneva, and Vientuli, 
while leaders at the national and EU level negotiate a resolution. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) As in Finland and Estonia, long lines of trucks have formed 
at Latvia's border with Russia. This is a problem that has been 
growing in recent years. PolEconOff recently visited the border 
crossing points Terehova, Grebneva, and Vientuli and discussed the 
issue of long truck lines and inspection delays with Latvian Customs 
and Border Guard officials. A record line of more than 2000 trucks 
in August with drivers waiting an average of 23 hours at Terehova 
and approximately 20 hours at Grebneva prompted the visit. Vientuli, 
which has been closed to truck traffic since 2004, may be reopened 
and expanded to help alleviate congestion at the other two border 
posts. PolEconOff also met with Valdis Trezins, President of the 
Latvian Association of Road Carriers (Latvijas Auto), a trucking 
association, to better understand the issue from the truck driver's 
perspective. 
 
¶3. (U) According to Eurostat, EU exports of goods to Russia between 
2000 and 2006 more than tripled in value, from 22.7 billion euro to 
72.4 billion. Russia is now the third most important trading partner 
for the EU, after the United States and China. As a result, land 
cargo shipments from the EU to Russia have increased. According to 
Latvijas Auto, truck flow in August 2007 increased 50 percent since 
the same month last year. However, while EU-Russia trade flow has 
increased significantly, Russia has failed to modernize and increase 
the capacity of its border crossing points and to improve the 
efficiency of its inspection process. The two Russian checkpoints 
Burachki, which is located at Latvia's major crossing point 
Terehova, and Ubylinka, the corresponding border post to Latvia's 
second busiest crossing point Grebneva, were built in the 1990s and 
are equipped to handle a maximum flow of 450 and 250 trucks per day, 
respectively. To meet that potential, the duration of the inspection 
process on the Russian side, if inspections were carried out 24 
hours a day, would have to average 3.2 minutes at Burachki and 5.8 
minutes at Ubylinka. However, according to Latvian Customs 
officials, the inspection process for each truck crossing from 
Latvia to Russia takes two to three hours. A spokesperson from 
Latvia's Ministry of Transportation said publicly that inspection on 
the Russian side can sometimes take up to eight hours per truck. In 
comparison, inspections from Russia to Latvia take about two to 
three minutes per truck. 
 
¶4. (U) The lack of attractive alternative truck routes has also 
contributed to an increase in traffic at the Latvian-Russian border. 
According to Customs and Trucking Association officials, Western 
companies shipping to Russia prefer to keep their goods in the EU 
for as much of the journey as possible. Truck drivers, for example, 
who used to cross Belarus, say they no longer do because the risk 
that Belarusian Customs officials will confiscate their cargo for a 
minor infraction has become too high. Scandinavian and Estonian 
routes are possible alternatives, but they are farther and more 
expensive than routes through Latvia. 
 
¶5. (U) Shipping via railroad poses its own problems. The routes are 
more complicated and more expensive as Russia charges high tariffs 
on railroad transportation from abroad. In 2005, Latvijas Dzelzcels 
(Latvian Railways) had a cargo turnover of 54.9 million tons, but in 
2006 cargo turnover fell by 11.2  to 48.7 million tons, according to 
official statistics. The continuing asymmetry between European and 
Russian rail gauges (which are used in the Baltic States from Soviet 
days) makes it impractical to imagine much increase in rail traffic, 
except for items that enter Latvia by sea and are then transferred 
to rail. The recent unveiling of new container trains for the 
transport of Chinese transit goods arriving by sea at the ports of 
Riga and Liepaja, which are destined for Moscow, will reduce 
somewhat the number of containers transferred to trucks. However, at 
the moment, the new container trains are only carrying 82 containers 
from Riga and 50 containers from Liepaja once a week. 
 
¶6. (U) Until Russia improves the efficiency of its inspection 
process and the capacity of its border posts, Latvia is limited to 
improving the management of the ongoing problem of long truck lines 
on its side of the border. For example, construction of freight 
vehicle parking lots has already begun, and more portable toilets 
and trash receptacles along the lines have been installed. To reduce 
air and noise pollution and to give truck drivers a rest, drivers 
are organized based on the perishability of their cargo and allowed 
 
to turn off their engines and sleep until a specified time. We saw 
no signs of trash or criminal activity during our visit and road 
conditions allowed us to pass the lines easily. According to press 
reports, Latvia's Ministries of Transport, Finance, and Interior 
would need to jointly spend LVL 307.6 million (roughly 628 million 
dollars) until 2010 to modernize and rebuild the crossing points at 
Terehova, Grebneva, and Vientuli to improve conditions for truck 
drivers as well as local residents. They plan to receive more than 
half of that sum, LVL 153.9 million (roughly 315 million dollars), 
from EU structural funding. 
 
¶7. (U) Latvian and Russian government officials have focused on 
reopening a border crossing point in Vientuli, which was closed to 
trucks in 2004 due to the weak infrastructure of a bridge on the 
Russian side and has since handled only passenger traffic. 
Construction of a much larger inspection facility at Ludonka, 
Russia's corresponding border post to Vientuli, was visible from the 
Latvian side of the border. However, truck drivers do not view 
Vientuli as an attractive option to Grebneva, which is about 70km 
south, because of its narrow roads; unreliable bridge; and its 
isolated location, which is difficult to access and too far north 
for shipments destined for Moscow, where 95% of cargo trucks from 
the EU are directed, according to the president of Latvia's Trucking 
Association. Seventy-five percent of the most direct road from 
Grebneva to Vientuli is gravel. 
 
¶8. (U) A more attractive option for truck drivers is the border 
crossing point in Opuli, where the Latvian government also plans to 
build a modern border post to better handle truck traffic. Located 
70km north of Terehova, it is a closer and a far easier alternative 
route to access when backups occur at Terehova, which has 
experienced the highest volume of traffic since long truck lines 
started to form in 2006. We, however, did not see any construction 
work at Mogili, Russia's corresponding border post. 
 
¶9. (U) At Terehova, most of the truck drivers come from Lithuania 
(45-51%), Latvia (20-22%), Russia (15%), and Poland (8-10%). At 
Grebneva, truck drivers from Lithuania account for about 42% of all 
trucks, followed by Latvia (about 31%), Russia (about 16%), and 
Poland (about 6%), according to Customs. While most trucks from the 
EU to Russia are full of goods, from machinery and chemicals to 
manufactured goods and transport equipment, trucks transiting from 
Russia to the EU are often empty, according to Latvian Customs 
officials. Truck drivers add that while road conditions in Latvia 
are not good, allowing for speeds of up to 70km per hour, road 
conditions on the Russian side are much worse, allowing for speeds 
of 50km per hour or less. 
 
¶10. (U) Officials in Latvia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs tell us 
that improving the situation is a key task of the Latvian-Russian 
intergovernmental commission.  The Latvians are willing to consider 
expanding existing checkpoints, opening new ones, and modernizing 
the inspection process. At present, the GOL is considering projects 
such as advanced electronic information sharing among the various 
border crossing points. The Latvian State Revenue Service and other 
government institutions plan to announce project approvals in early 
¶2008. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Comment. As we can see, the causes behind the ongoing 
issue of long truck delays at the Latvian-Russian border are more 
pragmatic than political. Although, as the president of Latvia's 
Trucking Association pointed out, the political will to improve 
Russia's checkpoint operations at Burachki and Ubylinka, in the near 
term at least, probably suffers from a lack of any strong power clan 
in the region to lobby for greater commitment from the Kremlin. 
Also, with businesses unlikely to find cheaper, more efficient and 
direct routes to deliver their products to the Russian market, and 
with Latvia due to join the EU's Schengen border-free zone on 
December 21, long truck lines look set to continue, if not worsen, 
over the next two years as trade flow from the EU to Russia 
continues to grow. In the mean time, Russia's failure to modernize 
and increase the capacity of its border crossing points and to 
improve the efficiency of its inspection process will delay the 
development of the region as a whole and dampen Latvia's desire to 
build itself as a transit economy between East and West. 
 
SELDOWITZ