Gevorg Kostanyan: Political speculations around Araratcement Plant are absurd

No criminal case has been instituted in relation to the situation around Araratcement Plant, Prosecutor General of Armenia Gevorg Kostanyan told journalists on Thursday.  

According to Kostanyan, the Ministry of Nature Protection has revealed that the amount of water extraction in Ararat and Armavir marzes is more than allowed by the law. This means that the water is being consumed illegally. "Given that excessive water extraction harms the environment and the mineral resources, 2 criminal cases have been instituted in those marzes. The criminal cases also touch on the activities of the economic entities consuming big water volumes, including Araratcement", said Kostanyan.  He added that the matter concerns over 120 companies and organizations. "At the moment there are no detainees or defendants", he said. 

When commenting on the rumors that the authorities are trying to exert pressure on the Prosperous Armenia Party and its leader Gagik Tsarukyan through the situation around Araratcement Plant, Kostanyan said that the political speculations on this topic are absurd. 

To note, Spokesperson for the Prosperous Armenia Party Tigran Urikhanyan has recently come out with a statement because of water supply suspension at Araratcement Plant. He said that "some men, which introduced themselves as ecologists", accompanied by policemen, closed the pump station of the channel towards the plant and nearby settlements, and in fact, directed water resources to Azerbaijan. "I am confident that it is clear to everybody that eagerness of the stooges of certain forces to damage the plant and about 1600 its workers is conditioned by political disagreements, and has no moral borders. Although it looks strange, the owner of the Avshar wine factory, Araik Grigoryan, who is the brother of the governor of the Ararat region, said that the plant has debts. For this reason, the water supply system was switched off. I would like to remind that Araratcement has no debts. Moreover, the plant overpaid for services. This information is official and available to everybody", Urikhanyan said.