Category: 2024

Pashinyan considers economic development as the state interest of Armenia

Ophelia Vardapetian

 20:54, 1 February 2024

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan considers economic development and overall progress to be the state interest of Armenia. 
Pashinyan expressed this viewpoint in an interview with the "Safe Environment" program on Public Radio of Armenia.

"I am convinced that Armenia's state interest lies in its economic development and overall progress because what we are talking about – the army, education, border security – involves specific budget expenditures," said Pashinyan.

Speaking about the security component, the Prime Minister emphasized that the economy is also important in a wartime situation.
Addressing the government's salary increase for the military, he mentioned that if there is no income in the state budget, it is impossible to raise the salary of the military,  to purchase weapons and ammunition, or to finance education so that the military has proper education.



Armenia joins International Criminal Court, Moscow decries ‘unfriendly step’

Yeghisabet Arthur
France 24
Feb 1 2024

Armenia on Thursday formally joined the International Criminal Court (ICC), officials said, in a move that traditional ally Moscow has denounced as "unfriendly".

The Hague-based court in March issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine and the alleged illegal deportation of children to Russia.

Yerevan is now obligated to arrest the Russian leader if he sets foot on its territory.

"ICC Rome Statute officially entered into force for Armenia on February 1," the country's official representative for international legal matters, Yeghishe Kirakosyan told AFP.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had in October branded Armenia's ratifying of the ICC's founding Rome Statute a "wrong decision".

Russia's foreign ministry called it an "unfriendly step."

Armenia is home to a permanent Russian military base and part of the Moscow-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) that consists of several ex-Soviet republics.

Western countries hailed the ratification, which marks the expansion of the court's jurisdiction into what was long seen as Russia's backyard.

"The world is getting smaller for the autocrat in the Kremlin," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in reference to Putin after Armenia ratified the ICC statute in October.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has sought to assuage Kremlin fears, saying the decision was not directed against Russia.

"Joining the ICC gives Armenia serious tools to prevent war crimes and crimes against humanity on its territory," Kirakosyan said.

"First of all, this concerns Azerbaijan," Yerevan's arch-foe neighbour with which it has fought two wars over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

But Armenia's move illustrated a growing chasm between Moscow and Yerevan, which has grown angry with the Kremlin over its perceived inaction over Armenia's long-standing confrontation with Azerbaijan. 

Azerbaijani forces in September swept through Karabakh – where Russian peacekeepers are deployed – and secured the surrender of Armenian separatist forces that had controlled the mountainous region for decades.

"Armenia hoped that by joining the ICC, by making such a sensitive step for Russia, it could receive security guarantees from the West," independent analyst Vigen Hakobyan told AFP.

"But apparently it has strained its Russia ties without receiving real security guarantees from the West."

Armenia signed the Rome Statute in 1999 but did not ratify it, citing contradictions with the country's constitution. 

The constitutional court last March said that those obstacles had been removed after Armenia's adoption of a new constitution in 2015. 

Last November, Yerevan formally deposited its instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute.

(AFP)

https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20240201-armenia-joins-international-criminal-court-moscow-decries-unfriendly-step

Armenpress: Previously, 95-97 percent of Armenia’s defense relations were with Russia, now cannot remain the same: PM

Emil Lazarian

 21:30, 1 February 2024

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Addressing the question regarding the lack of a concept of reforms in the Armed Forces of Armenia, considering that the new draft of the "Law on Defense" should have been ready in January 2022, the Prime Minister said: "In January 2022, that concept was ready. However, events in the winter of 2022 made it obvious that we could not move forward with that concept. Now, we need not only to have a concept but also to understand how realistic the realization of that concept is, including cooperation in the military-technical sphere. We need to understand with whom we can realistically have military-technical and defense relations."
Pashinyan added that  problem was not as challenging before because there was no such problem, and creating a concept posed no difficulty.

"Previously, 95-97 percent of our defense sector relations were with the Russian Federation. Now, it cannot be the same, for both objective and subjective reasons. We have to understand what kind of relations we have, for example, with India in this concept," he said.

The Prime Minister also emphasized the importance of answering questions about what security relations Armenia will have with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Georgia, the United States, what security relations it will have with Georgia, or whether security relations with Russia will change or not. Will Armenia remain a member of the CSTO or not? What kind of relations are being built with France?

"The problem here is that this concept has been already declared as a declaration. We need to formulate a concept for the implementation of which we have at least some agreements. And I think that we should finalize this concept during this year," said the Prime Minister.

Pashinyan emphasized that the government has declared and is moving towards a professional army.



Nagorno-Karabakh former officials provide eyewitness accounts of Azerbaijani blockade at U.S. Congress briefing

Tatoyan Vazgen

 17:14, 1 February 2024

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno Karabakh exiled Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Gegham Stepanyan and former State Minister Artak Beglaryan represented the Nagorno-Karabakh people’s "inalienable rights, national interests, and democratic aspirations" at a Capitol Hill briefing featuring powerful remarks by Representatives Brad Sherman (D-CA) and James Costa (D-CA), and organized by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), the ANCA said in a press release. 

“We are here to demand the right of safe return of Artsakh’s [NK] refugees to their homes, homes that in many cases have been occupied by their families for hundreds and hundreds of years,” the ANCA quoted Rep. Sherman as saying, who urged the enforcement of Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, sanctioning the Aliyev regime for the ethnic cleansing of NK. Citing Azeri President Aliyev’s escalating rhetoric falsely claiming Armenia’s capital Yerevan is Azerbaijani territory, Rep. Sherman urged the Biden Administration to provide defensive military weapons to Armenia, “to avoid the next tragedy, which is being planned in Baku.”  Rep. Sherman concluded his remarks, with a message to President Aliyev, who claims that his main enemies are the Armenians of the world. “Well, I have news for you, Mr. Aliyev. Your main enemies are every person in the world who believes in democracy, who believes in human rights, and who believes in justice.”

Condemning Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of NK, Rep. Costa noted, “We must do more” to provide US humanitarian assistance to Artsakh’s forcibly displaced population through the foreign aid supplemental currently under consideration.  “We must hold the Azerbaijan government responsible for not only the ethnic cleansing but the cultural genocide that they continue to attempt to implement as part of a systematic effort that has long been the history of Azerbaijan and their attitude toward the Armenian people and the culture and the religion.  The threats that Azerbaijan is now making toward Armenia, I believe, are serious and real, and therefore should be treated as such,” stated Rep. Costa.  He also called for concrete US action to secure the return of Artsakh leaders and Armenian POWs illegally held hostage by Azerbaijan.  “Artsakh’s rights were center stage this week in Washington, DC, as two of the Republic’s most eloquent voices – Artak Beglaryan and Gegham Stepanyan – made the case to U.S. legislators and international religious freedom leaders for the safe return of indigenous Armenians to their ancient homeland,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Today’s Congressional briefing was a great opportunity for legislators to hear first-hand about the Artsakh Genocide and also for them to consult among themselves about the concrete U.S. steps needed to restore this integral part of the Armenian homeland.”

During the briefing, Stepanyan and Beglaryan offered eyewitness accounts of the brutal realities of Azerbaijan’s ten-month blockade of Artsakh, which culminated in the September 2023 genocidal attack that forcibly emptied Artsakh of its indigenous Armenian population.  The Artsakh leaders shared the history of Azerbaijan’s premeditated attacks against Artsakh’s Armenians, which laid the foundation for the 2023 genocide.
Beglaryan and Stepanyan called for bold US and international leadership to hold Azerbaijan accountable for the Artsakh genocide, including via:

— Sanctions on Azerbaijan, building on Senate passage of S.3000, which enforce Section 907 restriction on U.S. military and security aid to Azerbaijan.  They also encouraged the application of Magnitsky sanctions on Aliyev government officials for war crimes and ethnic cleansing committed during the 2020 Azerbaijan-Turkey war against Armenia and Artsakh and subsequent genocidal aggression.

— US aid for NK’s forcibly displaced Armenian community, including housing and job placement assistance, until a secure mechanism can be put in place through international oversight and mediation with NK authorities to guarantee the safe return of forcibly displaced Armenians to their Artsakh homes.

— Expanded U.S. and international efforts to help secure the immediate release of Artsakh leaders captured in September 2023, and POWs illegally held by Azerbaijan since the 2020 Azerbaijan/Turkey attacks.

— Preservation of NK’s Armenian cultural and religious heritage already under threat of destruction by Azerbaijan.

Stepanyan and Beglaryan stressed that without international efforts to address the Artsakh people’s right to safe return and justice for the crimes committed, it will be impossible to establish sustainable peace in the region. They also emphasized that the systemic anti-Armenian hatred fomented by the Azerbaijani Government must be eradicated to ensure an enduring settlement of the conflict and regional stability.

The speakers underscored that enforcement of Section 907, via enactment of S. 3000, would represent a meaningful contribution to regional peace. They also touched on related initiatives, among them ANCA-backed resolutions pending in the U.S. House, H.R. 5686 and H.R.5683. These measures would hold Azerbaijan accountable for ethnic cleansing against NK’s indigenous Armenians, and help deter further military aggression against Armenia by providing foreign military financing (FMF) aid to Armenia. They also raised H.Res.735, requesting a report on Azerbaijan’s human rights practices under Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act; and H.Res.861, a bipartisan resolution introduced by Rep. Schiff calling on the United States to ensure the immediate release of Armenian POWs and other detained persons illegally held by Azerbaijan.

The ANCA is accompanying Beglaryan and Stepanyan as they represent Artsakh interests during two weeks of Washington DC meetings with elected officials, policymakers, and religious freedom advocates, as part of a 120,0000 Reasons coalition effort supported by the Tufenkian Foundation and the Philos Project.

Earlier this week, Stepanyan offered powerful remarks on Capitol Hill at an International Religious Freedom Summit-related forum calling for U.S. government and non-governmental organization leadership to provide for the secure return of Artsakh Armenians, protection of Artsakh’s Christian heritage, and sanctions against the Azerbaijani government.  Throughout the IRF Summit, they discussed the broad range of challenges and opportunities for international action to assist forcibly displaced Artsakh refugees.

Kazakhstan and Armenia discuss bilateral cooperation

Vardan Badalian
KazInform, Kazakhstan
Feb 1 2024

In the framework of further development of Kazakh-Armenian interaction, Ambassador Bolat Imanbayev met with Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan and Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan, Kazinform News Agency cites the press service of the Kazakh MFA.

The Armenian side was informed about the process of implementation of large-scale political, socio-economic and democratic reforms in Kazakhstan, as well as the content of the interview of the Head of State to Egemen Kazakhstan newspaper. During the meetings, background materials were presented on the indicators achieved in the key sectors of Kazakhstan's economy, measures to ensure human rights and the results of the years of Kasym-Jomart Tokayev's presidency.

During the talks with Minister of Economy of Armenia Kerobyan, the results of bilateral trade and economic cooperation in 2023 were summarized. Continued annual increase in the mutual trade turnover was noted, which in the first 11 months of 2023 showed an increase of 30% compared to the same period last year. The sides discussed issues related to the further expansion of trade and economic relations, in particular the measures to create mechanisms of interaction between Kazakh and Armenian businessmen. Interest was confirmed in holding the 10th regular meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission on economic co-operation this year. The Armenian side was provided with detailed information about the Astana International Forum June this year.

The high level of cooperation achieved in the cultural, humanitarian and sports spheres was emphasized at the meeting with the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia Andreasyan. The role of the Abay Centre established at the Yerevan State University, where necessary conditions are created for studying the Kazakh language, history and culture of the country, was especially noted. In this context, Minister Andreasyan expressed interest in opening a similar center in Kazakhstan. According to her, "it is a great opportunity for collaboration where student and faculty exchange programs can be organized". The sides also discussed the implementation of the bilateral program of cooperation in the field of culture for 2023-2025 and expressed readiness to sign the interministerial program of cooperation in the field of physical culture for 2024-2026. During the meeting the invitation of the Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan to take part in the 5th World Nomad Games to be held in Astana on 8-14 September this year was handed over to the Armenian side.

Following the meetings, the sides reaffirmed their commitment to further developing and strengthening the multifaceted partnership between the two countries.


Author

Adlet Seilkhanov

Armenia becomes 124th state party to join Rome statute of ICC

Suren Karakhanian
Goa Chronicle
Feb 1 2024

Yerevan, Feb 1 (UNI) Armenia has become the 124th country to join the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) starting Thursday and the 19th state party from the Group of Eastern European States to enter the organization.

On October 3, the Armenian parliament voted to ratify the Rome Statute, with 60 lawmakers supporting the ratification of the document and 22 voting against. On October 14, Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan signed a law ratifying the Rome Statute and accepting the request for retroactive recognition of the ICC jurisdiction.

At the same time, member of the Hayastan (Armenia) opposition parliamentary faction Artsvik Minasyan said that the ratification of the Rome Statute contradicted the country’s constitution and that the ruling party lawmakers who approved the ratification “exceeded their powers.”

Additionally, Hayk Mamijanyan, the leader of the I Have Honor opposition party, also called the move illegal, pointing to the Armenian Constitutional Court’s 2004 ruling that the Rome Statute was contrary to the country’s basic law.

Armenia’s accession to the Rome Statute means that the country will have to recognize the court’s charges against Russian President Vladimir Putin and join the ICC arrest warrant against him. Against this background, Moscow has considered Yerevan’s plans to join the ICC unacceptable.

https://goachronicle.com/armenia-becomes-124th-state-party-to-join-rome-statute-of-icc/

Armenia Should Decide If It Is Part If The West Or The Anti-Western Axis Of Evil – OpEd

Karapet Navasardian
Feb 1 2024
 February 1, 2024  0 Comments

By Dr. Taras Kuzio

The brutal terrorist attack on October 7 of last year by Hamas on Israel has shed a spotlight on the Russian-Iranian military alliance. Ten countries are now dragged into the fighting in the Middle East. Over the weekend the killing of three and wounding of 34 US servicemen in Jordan in an attack by an Iranian proxy group based in Syria has escalated the tension even more. 

Russia already had a close alliance with Syria, having militarily intervened and saved the Bashar al-Assad regime from being overthrown. The Russian-Iranian military alliance since summer 2022 has provided drones and missiles for use by the Kremlin’s in its war against Ukraine with Iran seeking SU-34 fighter jets and radar stations.  Russia is set to acquire the Iranian Shahed-107 drone with a range of 15000 kms.

In the aftermath of the Hamas terrorist attack, Russia ditched its partnership with Israel’s populist nationalist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in exchange for an expanded relationship with Iran and closer relationship with Hamas and other Iranian-funded terrorist proxies in the Middle East. The Kremlin has declined to condemn Hamas’s terrorism and a Hamas delegation led by one its leaders Moussa Abu Marzouk visited Moscow only a few weeks after the terrorist attack. 

Putin has returned Russia to the Soviet era of the 1960s to the 1980s. Then east European intelligence agencies under the Kremlin’s control and the KGB, and now its successors FSB and SVR, provided training, financial resources, arms, and intelligence to a myriad of Palestinian and pro-Palestinian West European terrorist groups.

The country that is a surprising ally of theocratic Iran is democratic Armenia. Armenian’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is attempting to sit on two chairs, one facing Europe and the other facing Iran, where he is a frequent visitor, in the pursuit of incompatible foreign policy vectors. This month Iran announced that Armenia could begin using Iranian ports for its trade with India. Iranian-Armenian trade is booming, tripling since 2021 to $1 billion this year. Iran’s exports of electricity from Armenia and Armenian imports of Iranian gas are growing.

Armenia has voted with Russia at the UN in support of Crimea’s annexation, seeing it as similar to its support for Karabakh’s ‘self-determination’, but abstained on votes condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Armenia has also become an intermediary for Iranian military supplies to Russia and, together with Georgia, assists Russia to evade Western sanctions.  Western imports into Armenia and Central Asia have massively grown since the imposition of Western sanctions on Russia with most of these goods re-exported to Russia.

Iranian drones and missiles are transported to Russia through Armenian air space and by using Armenian airports. Iran Air Cargo, a subsidiary of Iran Air, flies from Yerevan’s Zvartnots International, a civilian airport, to Moscow. Iran Air Cargo, Safiran Airport Services and their parent company Iran Air are under US sanctions for transferring Iranian drones to Russia. Russian Air Force Ilyushin II-76MD have also been used to transport Iranian drones through Yerevan. The Kremlin uses Iranian drones and missiles for what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy describes as terrorist attacks against Ukrainian civilians and utilities. Such attacks constitute war crimes as defined by the ICC (International Criminal Court).

The director of the CIA William Burns warned Yerevan about its close relations with Iran and Russia during a visit to Armenia in the summer of 2022. Some Armenian companies have been sanctioned by the US for assisting Russia to evade sanctions.

Iran officially supported Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity but unofficially backed Armenia’s occupation of Karabakh and Western Azerbaijan. Iran’s Foreign Minister told his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan, that ‘we consider Armenia’s security as the security of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the security of the region.’ Iran views Azerbaijan in a similarly negative manner as to how Russia views Ukraine, as rebellious and lost provinces. 

In pursuing a military relationship with Iran, Russia is following in the footsteps of the Soviet Union in claiming to be an ally of countries that were once were colonies of the West. Russia is seeking to increase its influence in the Global South as the leader of the ‘world majority’, in the words of Putin on the 80th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad. Putin described this ‘civilizational and cultural community’ as one ‘that objectively opposes the West.’ 

The US is the main target of the anti-Western axis. The US is accused by Russia of a putsch that overthrew pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine’s Euromaidan Revolution and of transforming Ukraine into an ‘Anti-Russia’ that was committing ‘genocide’ against Russian speakers. Russia and Iran accuse Israel of suppressing the rights of the Palestinian people. Instigated by the US, Ukrainian and Israeli action forced Russia to launch its so-called SMO (Special Military Operation) and Hamas its terrorist attack.

The addition of North Korea to the Russian-Iranian anti-Western axis has led to the flow of artillery shells and missiles to Russia for use in the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine. North Korea’s dictatorship has long acted as a Chinese proxy against the West.

While China has not formally joined the Russian-Iranian-North Korean anti-Western axis, Beijing is assisting Russia by importing oil that is no longer used by Europe. China’s trade has massively grown, including becoming the biggest exporter of cars, to Russia. China is strategically important in keeping Russia’s economy afloat. 

Russia’s military alliance with Iran and North Korea, growing attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels against Western shipping and attacks against US servicemen in Jordan are part of an anti-Western axis that has believes it is already at war with the US and Europe. 

The Kremlin is mobilizing the Russian people and the Global South to fight the West through proxy wars in Ukraine and Israel. Ukraine and Israel are described by the Kremlin and Tehran as interlopers in historically ‘Russian’ and ‘Arab’ lands.  Russia and Iran seek are pursuing the same goals of erasing Ukraine and Israel from the maps of Europe and the Middle East. 

Armenia is pursuing contradictory alliances with Europe and the US on the one hand and close relations with Iran and Russia on the other. In acting as a transit route for Iranian drones and missiles to Russia and assisting Russia to evade Western sanctions, Armenia is undermining its stated intention of integrating into Europe. 

The Russian-Belarusian-Iranian-North Korean anti-Western axis believes it is already at war with the West in Ukraine and Israel. This is a logical outcome of decades of the Kremlin’s anti-Western xenophobia and Putin’s deeply held belief in the West having destroyed the country he remains deeply nostalgic for – the USSR. The defeat of the so-called US-led unipolar world would return, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Iranian Armed Forces Logistics Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, to a ‘truly equal multipolar world’ that Putin associates with the Cold War when the USSR, now Russia, was equal with the US.

Dr. Taras Kuzio is a professor of political science at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy and an associate research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. He is the author of Genocide and Fascism. Russia’s War Against Ukrainians.

https://www.eurasiareview.com/01022024-armenia-should-decide-if-it-is-part-if-the-west-or-the-anti-western-axis-of-evil-oped/

Video: Nagorno-Karabakh refugees face difficult exile in Armenia

Babken Chilingarian
France 24
Feb 1 2024
Video
By:Garren JANSEZIAN|Taline OUNDJIAN

Armenia joins the International Criminal Court (ICC) this Thursday, with the hope of being able to use its judicial mechanisms to protect itself against its neighbour Azerbaijan. Yerevan and Baku have waged two wars over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan took control of the Armenian-majority enclave in a lightning offensive last September, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee to Armenia. Now living in poverty, they dream of returning home to Nagorno-Karabakh. Our correspondent Taline Oundjian went to meet some of them.

Watch the report at https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/focus/20240201-nagorno-karabakh-refugees-face-difficult-exile-in-armenia

Aliyev names change of Armenia’s Constitution as a condition for peace

Emil Lazarian
Armenia – Feb 1 2024

“Armenia’s claims against Azerbaijan in international courts are based on such issues as non-recognition of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, separation of Karabakh from Azerbaijan. If Armenia puts an end to territorial claims towards Azerbaijan and makes changes to the Constitution and other normative-legal documents, peace can be achieved,” Aliyev said, receiving Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Martin Chungong in Baku.

 

He also noted that de facto peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia has already been established, and a peaceful situation has been prevailing on the border of the two countries for several months.

 

“But in order to bring this process to its logical conclusion, it is necessary to sign a peace treaty and put an end to Armenia’s territorial claims towards Azerbaijan,” the Azerbaijani president said.

 

Aliyev noted that Armenia’s Declaration of Independence “contains direct calls for the unification of Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region with Armenia and the violation of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The references to this document are also reflected in the Constitution of Armenia.”

 

“In addition, Armenia’s other normative legal documents also contain territorial claims towards Azerbaijan, many conventions and other documents Armenia has joined have numerous reservations that do not recognize Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Karabakh,” Aliyev said.

https://mediamax.am/en/news/politics/53798/

Azerbaijan attempts to sabotage Armenian economy, warns Union of Miners and Metallurgists

Markos Nalchajian

 14:38,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. The Union of Miners and Metallurgists of Armenia has expressed deep concern over the latest wave of disinformation and fake news campaigns targeting the Armenian mining sector.

In a statement, the union warned that the fake accusations and defamatory statements could even have serious consequences for the Armenian economic stability.

The union said that the disinformation is spread by both foreign and domestic entities, including Armenian environmental organizations.

“Armenia’s mining sector recorded significant progress in the recent years in terms of sustainable management. Although we didn’t expect the Armenian environmental organizations to notice or encourage these changes, but we at least hoped that pursuant to national interests they would be cautious in order not to support Azerbaijan’s political goals of misrepresenting Armenia as a ‘regional disaster’ and preventing investments into our country,” the union said in a statement.

It said that Azeri officials and organizations cite the defamatory accusations made by Armenian organizations in their statements.

“It is well-known that Azerbaijan is trying to sabotage by all possible means the Armenian economy. We recall with regret the Yeraskh steel plant project. Azerbaijan deployed its entire resources to undermine this project, which led to the factory being moved and our economy suffered millions of dollars in damages,” the union said.

The union added that Azerbaijan is constantly targeting with its fake news the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, the Kapan and Kajaran Combines, the Amulsar gold mine, which is yet to be re-launched, the Ararat gold plant and Teghut.

“We don’t seek to restrict anyone’s right to express concerns, but we want to remind that non-professional assessments, unfounded accusations and disinformation lay the groundwork for Azerbaijan’s propaganda and put doubt on the prospect of having responsible and modern mining in our country,” the union added.