Senior FCS Russia officials inspected border crossings on the southern stretch of the Russia–Kazakhstan frontier, reviewing infrastructure readiness and mobile-team operations at Vishnevka, Polynny and Karauzek under the advance cargo information system (SPOT). Source: FCS Russia.
FCS head Valery Pikalev led the delegation together with deputy head Agepsim Ashkalov, directors of central departments and South customs administration chief Andrey Belyaev. They visited two crossings in the Volgograd region — Vishnevka and Polynny — and Karauzek in the Astrakhan region.
Karauzek is the only multilateral road crossing on this border section in the Southern Federal District and forms part of the North–South international transport corridor. Average daily truck traffic there exceeds 500 vehicles.
On site, Pikalev reviewed infrastructure and discussed development and upgrade plans with representatives of the Federal State Institution Rosgranstroy. The assessment supports work on a reference model of seamless control under SPOT.
The FCS head also met mobile-team officers and checked their knowledge of operating procedures. The visit found routine clearance with no conflict situations recorded.
Closing the tour, Pikalev thanked Belyaev, Astrakhan customs chief Andrey Onipko, his deputy Andrey Chernov and mobile-team staff for organising SPOT implementation. He stressed that “coordinated work by Astrakhan customs officers allows import rules to be monitored without placing an undue burden on carriers”.
