Armenia damages Azerbaijan's environment - Ministry of Ecology

Baku/08.06.23/Turan: The Ministry of Ecology of Azerbaijan condemned Armenia's activities that damage the country's environment. In particular, the statement of the Ministry of Ecology refers to the construction by Armenia of a large metallurgical enterprise near the border of Azerbaijan without coordination this activity with Baku, in violation of international environmental standards.

The Minister of Economy of Armenia Vahan Kerobyan distributed on his social network page the information and a video confirming it about the construction of a large metallurgical plant with an annual production capacity of 180,000 tons on an area of 16,500 square meters on the territory of Armenia bordering with Azerbaijan, the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic - in the village of Yeraskh (Arazdeyen).

“This means that Armenia once again grossly violates the norms and principles of international law, in particular the provisions of the UN Economic Commission for European Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention),” the Ministry of Ecology of Azerbaijan said in a statement.

Thus, according to the paragraphs of the Espoo Convention, in case of a negative environmental impact on the territory of other countries of a large economic activity, this should be agreed with these states and an environmental impact assessment document prepared.

Armenia, as a party to the Convention, had to ensure the participation of Azerbaijan and the public in the affected territories within the framework of procedure for assessing the transboundary environmental impact.

"This is not the first case of Armenia's non-compliance with the norms of international, including environmental, law. Some time ago, Azerbaijan, within the framework of the Espoo Convention, filed a lawsuit against Armenia in connection with plans to build a new nuclear reactor on the territory of the Metsamor NPP, and a decision was made on Armenia's non-compliance with the provisions of the Convention," the Ministry of Ecology further notes.

The mining industry of Armenia also has a serious negative impact on the ecological environment of Azerbaijan. "Industrial wastewater from large mining enterprises of Armenia - the Hajaran copper-molybdenum combine and the Gafan mining and processing plant with a high chemical content have been intensively polluting the cross-border Okhchuchai river for a long time. These facts show that such illegal actions of Armenia have become a source of danger not only for Azerbaijan, but also for the ecological environment of the entire region," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry called on the international community to pay attention to Armenia's actions that damage the environmental safety of the region and contradict the norms of international law. -06B-