ArmInfo.Despite the assurances of the Azerbaijani media according to which, the reason for the action, in which the only road connecting Artsakh with Armenia is blocked, is "environmental risks and the mines developed in Artsakh, in fact, the Aliyev regime pursues the goal of legalizing Azerbaijan's power in Artsakh . A similar opinion was expressed by former Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Armenia, an expert in the field of mining Lilia Shushanyan.
According to the expert, in order to achieve this goal, it is sufficient to assess the activity of any Artsakh company in accordance with the legislation of Azerbaijan (which, of course, will be followed by the submission of demands.) Achieving this goal is simplified, since this type of economic activity provides the bulk of the state budget of the Republic of Artsakh and guarantees the autonomous livelihood of Artsakh Armenians. "If there are no economic resources, there is no way to survive, without a sufficient number of Armenians, there is no cultural autonomy, without Armenians, there is no question of self- determination," she emphasized.
The expert noted that the fictitious nature of the environmental problem is primarily confirmed not only by the fact that the Artsakh mine has never caused environmental problems, but also by the willingness of the Artsakh authorities even today to invite international experts to assess environmental risks. The fictitious nature of the actions is clearly visible in the contradictory statements of Azerbaijan. On the one hand, they talk about the illegal use of minerals (Simply put, the problem is who is using them: Artsakh or the Aliyev- British company), on the other hand, "environmentalists" say that they blocked the road because of environmental risks.
At the same time, Shushanyan indicated that the issue of responsible mine development is being raised by a country membership of which was suspended for the first in the history of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2017. Shushanyan also noted that these problems were not resolved in the future, as evidenced by the assessments of other bodies. In this regard, she recalled that in the USAID Civil Society Index of Sustainable Development, Azerbaijan, both in terms of the legal environment and sustainable development, received disappointingly low scores in 2021.
Armenia is one of the 9 countries of the Transparency Initiative, which was highly rated not only for the full implementation of international standards, but also for exceeding the requirements.
She also stressed that in the Environmental Performance Index, Azerbaijan ranks 104th, while Armenia - 56th. In this regard, Shushanyan stressed that the legislation and applicable practice in the mining industry of Artsakh is almost identical to that of Armenia.
<Notably, the blockade took place a few months after the Aliyev regime, jointly with Anglo Asian Mining, listed on the London Stock Exchange, transferred the Artsakh Kashen mine to this English company in July 2022 as part of the amendments to the production sharing agreement>, said the forme deputy minister. In this context, she recalled that Azerbaijan made a similar political step in the 1990s, transferring other minesof Artsakh according to the documents of the same company.
The expert noted that the purpose of such steps by the Aliyev dictatorial regime is more than clear, but it is puzzling that the UK allows a company registered in England to be one of the parties to an adventurous deal regarding a territory sensitive to human rights violations and still at war. . She also added that the British Embassy in Baku intensively supports this company.
Shushanyan drew attention to the fact that all this is taking place in the context of the absence of any peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a clear status of Artsakh, and Azerbaijan's prolonged military actions against Armenia and Artsakh.
She recalled that Freedom of Information disclosed the correspondence of Ambassador James Sharp with company representatives during and after the Artsakh war in 2020, where letters were often signed "Anglo Asian and the land of opportunity".
Shushanyan also stressed that as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression on September 27, 2020, more than 40 mines of Artsakh came under the control of Azerbaijan.
The loss of all these mines, in her opinion, should be presented by the Armenian side as material damage. <This logic is already set out in the lawsuit filed with the ECtHR on behalf of the Republic of Armenia. However, it is necessary that the Government of the Republic of Armenia actively continue consistent steps in this direction>, the expert concluded.