Baku hosts briefing on illegal mining activities of Armenia

A briefing on the ecotoxicity of Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus as a whole due to the activities of Armenia's illegal mining industry was held on Thursday, News.Az reports.

Addressing the briefing, Amin Mammadov, co-founder of the Environmental Protection First (EPF) Coalition, highlighted the purpose of establishing the EPF Coalition. He touched upon Armenia`s intention to build a large metallurgical plant in Arazdayan, bordering Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which was ultimately halted after objections from the Azerbaijani side. He described these attempts as a gross violation of international standards and principles, particularly those outlined in the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention), to which Armenia is a member.

Underlining that the mining of minerals worldwide is accompanied by serious deleterious effects on the environment, another co-founder of the Environmental Protection First (EPF) Coalition, Sabit Baghirov, mentioned that 12 of the 26 mining companies in Armenia are located on the West Zangezur side, causing significant environmental risks.

Sabit Baghirov emphasized the importance of Armenia ratifying the UN Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, highlighting the need to establish a newly agreed-upon framework for constructive cooperation between Azerbaijan and Armenia in joint efforts to monitor the ecological situation.

News.Az