Ecology official: Armenia not fulfilling its international obligations

Armenia has not fulfilled its obligations in the construction of a large metallurgical plant within the framework of international agreements, Azerbaijani Ecology and Natural Resources Minister's Advisor Rasim Sattarzada said.

According to him, it is not a question of whether the construction of this plant complies with Armenian legislation, but whether it complies with the norms of international law, Report informs.

“Armenia is a member of the ESPO Convention, which specifically says that in case of the negative environmental impact on the territory of other countries of any large-scale economic activity planned by a party of the Convention on its territory, such an activity should be coordinated with the relevant bodies of the country, the document of environmental impact assessment should be prepared. We are not saying that Armenia is building a factory which doesn't comply with environmental standards, we are saying that Armenia is not fulfilling its international obligations," the minister's advisor said.

Since 2022, a large Armenian-American metallurgical plant with an investment of $70 million is being built in the village of Yeraskh (Arazdoyan).

The construction is carried out very close to the borders of Azerbaijan in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (the distance is about 700-800 metres).