BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 10. The pollution of the Okhchuchai river directly affects the quality of the water resources of the Araz river in Azerbaijan, Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan Kamran Aliyev said, Trend reports.
He made the remark at a conference in Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan dedicated to cross-border cooperation between the Prosecutor's Offices of Azerbaijan and Türkiye. According to Aliyev, holding such a conference is an example of friendship and brotherhood between Azerbaijan and Türkiye.
Aliyev noted that a number of issues were discussed with Turkish colleagues during his stay in Nakhchivan, including environmental crimes committed by Armenia.
"Everyone knows how polluted the Araz river is, the construction of a plant there has recently led to the commission of an environmental crime. This was also stated by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev during his speech at the event of the Non-Aligned Movement, once again drawing attention to the crimes committed by Armenia," he said.
“The construction of this plant creates huge problems for both Türkiye and Azerbaijan, and we have brought to the attention of the international community that this is an environmental crime," he added.
"The pollution of the Okhchuchai river directly affects the quality of the Araz river's water resources, as the Okhchuchai flows into the Araz. And the Araz is the second largest river in the South Caucasus," the prosecutor general said.
The length of the Okhchuchai - the left tributary of the Araz river is 83 kilometers, the basin area is 1175 square kilometers. The river originates on Mount Kaputjugh (3,285 meters) of the Zangazur ridge. The river, most of which is located in the Syunik province of Armenia (the historical region of Azerbaijan called Zangazur), flows through the Zangilan district liberated from Armenian occupation [after the second Karabakh war] and flows into the Araz river.
Approximately 70 percent of Azerbaijan's terrestrial water resources are formed in neighboring countries due to transboundary water flows. The cross-border Okhchuchai river is constantly polluted on the territory of Armenia by industrial waste, playing the role of a collector of industrial waste.
These industrial wastewater is discharged into the river untreated, which increases the level of pollution at times, therefore these water resources are considered unsuitable for use on the territory of Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, being a large tributary of the Kura river, the Araz is also a cross-border river with Armenia and plays a crucial role in the irrigation of the cultivated areas of Azerbaijan. However, due to a serious change in water quality, its use for domestic and agricultural needs can have an extremely negative impact.