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Armenia was not only one involved in looting of mineral deposits in Azerbaijan's Karabakh - FM

Politics Materials 20 January 2023 10:30 (UTC +04:00)
Armenia was not only one involved in looting of mineral deposits in Azerbaijan's Karabakh - FM

BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 20. Armenia was not the only one involved in the looting of mineral deposits in Azerbaijan's Karabakh, Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov told reporters, Trend reports.

The minister noted that he had discussed the situation around the Lachin-Khankendi road with the head of the representative office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Azerbaijan.

"Companies from other countries also participated in the looting of mineral deposits in Karabakh. We can not name the exact countries. This will be assessed from the perspective of international law," the minister added.

Recently, Chairman of the Geological Exploration Agency Ali Aliyev said that there were 112.5 tons of mineral resources in the Soyudlu deposit (Kalbajar), 6.5 tons of gold, 10.75 tons of silver, about 4,000 tons of copper at the Vezhnali deposit (Zangilan), 457,000 tons of copper at the Damirli deposit (Karabakh), and 13.7 tons of gold at the Gizilbulagh deposit (Karabakh).

Aliyev noted that, however, the specific volume of deposits currently illegally exploited by Armenians is unknown. Calculations are currently underway.

He also said that the relevant state institutions have prepared an appeal to international organizations regarding the illegal exploitation of Azerbaijan's natural resources.

The peaceful protest of Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the Lachin-Khankendi road against the illicit exploitation of Azerbaijan's mineral resources in the area of Russian peacekeepers' temporary deployment has been going on for over a month.

Previously, following the talks with the Russian peacekeepers' command on December 3 and 7, 2022, a group of experts from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Property Service under the Ministry of Economy, and AzerGold CJSC were going to begin preliminary monitoring of the illicit mineral resource exploitation, as well as emerging environmental implications on Azerbaijani lands, where the Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, on December 10, 2022.

The expert team was expected to inspect the environmental condition at the 'Gizilbulagh' gold deposit and the 'Damirli' copper-molybdenum deposit, monitor various areas, organize cadastral property records, assess potential risks and threats to the environment, as well as to underground and surface water sources.

However, when arriving in the monitoring area, the expert group, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, faced provocations. The planned initial inspection and monitoring did not take place due to the fact that the Russian peacekeepers not only did not create necessary conditions but also prevented for the entire process to carry on.

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