By Azernews

By Sabina Mammadli

The ecological state of Okhchuchay River flowing from Armenia to Azerbaijan is close to an ecological disaster due to the dumping of waste from Armenian mining enterprises, Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Vugar Karimov said.

He noted that as of November 30, 2022, a significant excess of harmful substances was detected in the river.

Further, the deputy minister added that, despite the appeals to this effect, neither Armenia nor international organizations have taken any step.

The Okhchuchay River, an 83-km left tributary of Araz River, has a basin area of 1,175 square kilometers. The river begins on the Zangazur ridge's Gapidzhig mountain (3,285 meters).

The river flows through liberated Zangilan into the Araz River, with the majority of it located in Armenia's Syunik region (Azerbaijan's historical Zangazur District).

Because of transboundary water flows, approximately 70 percent of Azerbaijan's groundwater resources are formed in neighboring countries. The transboundary river Okhchuchay, which serves as a collector of industrial waste in Armenia, is constantly polluted by waste from the Kapan and Gajaran mining industries.

Industrial wastewater is discharged into the river untreated, which occasionally increases the level of pollution. As a result, these water resources are deemed unfit for use on Azerbaijani territory. Furthermore, Okhchuchay flows into Araz, the second-largest river in the South Caucasus, and pollution has a direct impact on its quality and water reserves.

Azerbaijan had previously urged responsible companies to halt operations at the Zangazur copper-molybdenum plant in Armenia's Syunik region due to the environmental disaster caused by the latter.

It should be noted that the plant's main shareholder is Germany's Cronimet Mining Company, which massively pollutes the transboundary Okhchuchay River.

On April 12, President Ilham Aliyev stated at a meeting dedicated to the results of the first quarter of 2022 that a special report on Armenia's environmental terror against Azerbaijan was prepared and adopted a few years ago by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

He stated that the rivers in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh were occupied and mercilessly exploited by Armenians. “The catastrophe of the Okhchuchay River is before the eyes of the world now. We have raised this issue,” he said.

Noting that when he raised the issue, Azerbaijan was promised that the company responsible for the disaster would come and clean it up, he emphasized that a year has passed and no proposals have been received.

“Cronimet is the company that contaminated the Okhchuchay River. It is a large company, and according to some foreign media, it had an illegal business relationship with representatives of Serzhik Sarkisyan’s former junta regime using corruption schemes. Together they operated the copper plant there,” he said.

Aliyev noted that the preparations for a legal claim in this regard with the involvement of international experts are underway.