BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov.16
Trend:
The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, NGOs working in the field of nature protection, and in general, the Azerbaijani public strongly condemn acts of environmental terror committed by Armenians in the territory of Kalbajar district, the Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Vugar Karimov said to journalists, Trend reports.
According to Karimov, the destruction of flora and fauna by Armenia, especially, the cutting of more than 2,000-years-old plane trees in Jabrayil, Zangilan, Gubadli, and other Azerbaijani territories liberated from occupation, the burning of the Topkhana forest around the city of Shusha with the banned white phosphorus, and now also the felling of trees, burning of forests and intentional damage to the environment in Kalbajar are serious environmental crimes.
“We again witnessed this barbarism in the photos and videos that spread in the media outlets yesterday. The environmental crimes committed by Armenia for many years are also evidenced by the Azercosmos satellite images. Moreover, the genocide against nature, biodiversity of the region committed by Armenia has been reflected in the preliminary results of monitoring carried out by employees of the Ministry of Ecology," he said.
The deputy minister noted that the available facts have been submitted to the secretariats of the relevant international conventions. International observation and assessment teams will be invited to Azerbaijan to record these facts and assess the damage.
He also pointed out that work is already underway to restore the ecological balance in the territories liberated from the Armenian occupation.
Since November 11, seedlings of various types of trees have been planted in these territories, and measures are being taken to restore the forest cover and vegetation. This work will continue with even greater intensity, added Karimov.
Following over a month of military action to liberate its territories from Armenian occupation, Azerbaijan has pushed Armenia to sign the surrender document. A joint statement on the matter was made by Azerbaijani president, Armenia's PM and the president of Russia.
A complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were introduced at 00:00 hours (Moscow time) on 10 November 2020.
Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars and artillery on Sept. 27. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front.
Back in July 2020, Armenian Armed Forces violated the ceasefire in the direction of Azerbaijan's Tovuz district. As a result of Azerbaijan's retaliation, the opposing forces were silenced. The fighting continued the following days as well. Azerbaijan lost a number of military personnel members, who died fighting off the attacks of the Armenian Armed Forces.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian Armed Forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.