(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec.14. First of all, in
principle, of course Azerbaijani ecological experts and any other
citizens of Azerbaijan should be free to visit any territory of
Azerbaijan they wish, former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew
Bryza told trend .
He was commenting on the ongoing protests of Azerbaijani NGOs in
the area of temporary deployment of Russian peacekeepers in
Karabakh.
“Unfortunately, as we know, throughout the years of conflict and
the occupation, this has not been practically possible under many
circumstances, especially for security reasons. I don't know the
exact location of the natural resources sites that Azerbaijani NGOs
wish to visit. Of course, from a legal perspective Azerbaijani NGOs
have every right to visit those parts of Azerbaijani territory,”
said the former ambassador.
Bryza believes that in a long run it is not a good situation to
have Russian peacekeepers ob the ground in Azerbaijan.
“However, to this point, they've played a relatively
constructive role, much more constructive that the role they have
played in Georgia and Moldova where they have made conflicts worse
rather than keeping the peace,” he added.
Members of Azerbaijani non-government organizations have been
protesting for three days straight near Shusha, where the Russian
peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed.
The protests are connected with the illegal exploitation of
Azerbaijani mineral resources on this land. The only thing that the
protestors demand is the arrival of Andrei Volkov, who is the
commander of Russian peacekeepers. However, their demand hasn't
been heard yet. The protestors are provided with hot food and
water. They are quite positive, they do not plan to leave. They say
that if it's necessary, they'll be here for a week, for ten days,
as long as it takes until their demands are heard.
Previously, following the negotiations with the Russian
peacekeepers' command on December 3 and 7, 2022, a group of experts
from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the State
Property Service under the Ministry of Economy, and AzerGold CJSC
on December 10, was going to begin the preliminary monitoring in
accordance with the illegal exploitation of mineral deposits, as
well as the emerging environmental and other consequences of this
on the territory of Azerbaijan.
It was planned to inspect the environmental conditions at the
'Gizilbulagh' gold deposit and the 'Damirli' copper-molybdenum
deposit, monitor various areas, organize cadastral property
records, assess potential risks and threats to the environment, as
well as to underground and surface water sources.
However, despite the group's arrival, accompanied by Russian
peacekeepers, in the monitoring area, it faced provocations. The
planned initial inspection and monitoring did not take place due to
the fact that the Russian peacekeepers not only did not create
necessary conditions but also prevented the entire process to carry
on.