Expert on pseudo-environmental action of Azerbaijanis: Country,  membership of which was suspended for the first time in history of  EITI in 2017, raises issue of responsible mine development 

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.