Tehran gave Yerevan its concern about the pollution level of the  Araks River

ArmInfo. The Iranian side is concerned about the pollution of the Araks River as a result of the work of the Agarak Copper and Molybdenum Combine. This was announced during the meeting of the First Deputy Minister of Nature Protection  of Armenia Eric Grigoryan and the Deputy Minister of Energy of Iran  Alireza Daemi on July 14 in Yerevan.

As the press service of the Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia  reports, the interlocutors discussed issues of short-term and  long-term cooperation in the field of ecology. The Iranian side, in  particular, touched upon issues related to the pollution of the  waters of the Araks River as a result of the work of the Agarak  Copper-Molybdenum Plant, and the timing of the introduction of a  closed sewage collection system.

In this regard, the Deputy Minister of Nature Protection of Armenia  stressed that water resources management can not be limited to one  source of pollution. "The water resources of Armenia mainly flow into  the Araks River, and the neighboring resources of the country are  used for irrigation purposes and not only, which is quite remarkable  on the background of a general shortage of fresh water," he said. At  the same time, referring to the data on water quality monitoring,  Grigoryan stressed the importance of carrying out similar work by the  experts of the working group on the site out of  the border with  Armenia, to determine the amount of water intake and the level of  water pollution.

Recall that in March 2012, Iran and Armenia decided to create a joint  working group to study the level of pollution of the Araks River. The  decision was made during a meeting between the head of the department  for environmental protection of Iran Mohammad Javad Mohamadizadeh and  the Minister of Nature Protection of Armenia Aram Harutyunyan in  Tehran. The parties agreed to establish a working group to identify  and prevent sources of pollution on both banks of the Araks River.  Both sides signed an agreement on environmental issues.

In 2014, at a meeting in Tehran, the Minister of Nature Protection  Aram Harutyunyan stressed that in order to prevent the discharge of  dirty effluents into the river in the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum  Combine, modernization work was carried out and appropriate  investments were made. "Within the framework of the visit, we held  effective negotiations with the Iranian side, and currently there is  a joint working group that conducts monthly water analysis and  reports on the work carried out," the minister added. Iranian Energy  Minister Hamid Chichian said in his turn that an agreement has been  reached, according to which the Armenian side will place the  equipment for cleaning all production effluents of the  copper-molybdenum combine in order to avoid them entering the Araks  River.