BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 17. The peaceful protest on the Lachin-Khankendi road continues as Azerbaijani eco-activists urge the world to pay attention to the Armenian environmental terror that needs to be stopped, Trend reports from the scene.
The demands of protesters rallied against the illegal exploitation of Azerbaijan's mineral resources remain unchanged. They do not intend to leave the place despite the adverse weather conditions.
Environmental activists and volunteers on the Lachin-Khankendi road, passing through Shusha city, are currently chanting "Azerbaijan is awake and sustains its wealth!", "Our wealth is indivisible!", "End environmental crimes!", "Stop environmental terrorism!", and other slogans.
The rally participants stated that humanitarian vehicles could pass freely through the protest area, there were no obstacles for them.
The peaceful protest in the area of Russian peacekeepers' temporary deployment has been going on since December 12, 2022.
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, the expert group, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, faced provocations when arriving in the monitoring area. 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 the entire process from carrying on.
