Ombudsman of Azerbaijan condemns attempts of Russian peacekeepers to obstruct protest on Lachin-Shusha road

The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan Sabina Aliyeva condemned the attempts of Russian peacekeepers to prevent the action of Azerbaijani activists on the Lachin-Shusha road.

According to Report, the Office of the Ombudsman states:

"In addition to the policy of genocide, occupation, and terrorism carried out by Armenia on the basis of ethnic hatred against Azerbaijan, as a result of the policy of environmental terrorism for 30 years, the nature, biological diversity, flora and fauna, water sources, the ecology of the occupied territories, in general, the ecosystem of the region have been seriously damaged, and the international ecological crime has been committed. Various rare species of plants and animals have been terminated, and the cessation of the process of self-regulation in rivers and lakes has led to the transformation of water bodies into a dead zone, harmful for all living things. Okchuchay, a cross-border river, has been heavily polluted in the territory of Armenia for many years and has had a negative impact on the quality of water resources in the Araz River, the second largest river of the South Caucasus.

"I would like to note that Armenia's ecological terror against Azerbaijan continues today. Thus, the illegal exploitation of mineral deposits in the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed, especially in the Kyzylbulag gold and Damirli copper-molybdenum deposits, is causing serious environmental damage.

"We would like to emphasize that Azerbaijani specialists from the Ministries of Economy, Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Service for Property Issues under the Ministry of Economy and AzerGold CJSC were to conduct primary monitoring on illegal exploitation of mineral deposits in the territory of Azerbaijan. But the monitoring failed as a result of a provocation."