Azerbaijan demanded that Armenia suspend construction of metallurgical plant near border with NAR

Baku/20.07.23/Turan: The Azerbaijani government has officially appealed to Armenia with a demand to stop the construction of a large metallurgical plant in Aradeyen (Yeraskh) – near the border with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR). An appropriate letter was sent by the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan Mukhtar Babayev to the Minister of Environment of Armenia, the press service of the Azerbaijani government reports.

As noted in the message, the procedure as set forth in the "Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in Transboundary Context" (Espoo Convention) has already been initiated in relation to activities near the village of Aradeyan, located a few hundred meters from the conditional border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The letter emphasizes that in line with Annex 1 of the said Convention, the operation of metallurgical plants is recognized as an activity that can cause significant negative transboundary impact.

At the same time, in line with Article 3.1 of the Convention, Armenia was obliged to inform Azerbaijan about the impact of the plant's operation on the environment. However, Azerbaijan has not received any notifications from Armenia on this project.

The letter also says that Azerbaijan initially requires Armenia to exchange information and discuss the negative cross-border impact of the project. The Azerbaijani Government also demands that Armenia immediately stop the construction of the plant until the issues related to the cross-border impact of the project are fully clarified and adequately addressed.

An appropriate appeal has also been sent to the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, further indicated in the Cabinet of Ministers' message. -06B-