Members of the Texas-based United States-Azerbaijan Center of Integration (USACI) expressed their support for the ongoing protests of Azerbaijani eco-activists on the Shusha-Khankandi road, close to the temporary deployment area of Russian peacekeepers, the State Committee for Diaspora Affairs told News.Az.

In their appeal to Eliot Minchenberg, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office in New York, and Congressman Troy Nehls from Texas, the USACI members expressed their deep concern over the situation around the Shusha-Khankandi road.

The appeal states that the Armenian armed forces had occupied the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan for nearly thirty years and carried out environmental terrorism, by illegally and cruelly looting the natural resources, waters, and forests of the Karabakh region. It is noted that the Gizilbulag gold and Damirli copper-molybdenum deposits located on the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent has been stationed since 2020, has been illegally exploited.

The USACI members strongly condemn the acts of ecological terrorism committed by Armenia, expressing their support for the ongoing peaceful protests of Azerbaijanis on the Shusha-Khankandi road. They also demand ensuring the safety of Azerbaijani eco-activists and investigating the illegal exploitation of the Gizilbulag gold and Damirli copper-molybdenum deposits. 

In their appeal, the USACI members also urge international organizations to take an action in line with the relevant international conventions to put an end to the illegal exploitation of natural resources on the territory of Azerbaijan, where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily stationed, and to bring Armenian criminals to justice.

News.Az