Peacekeepers changing place of their containers on area of peaceful protests near Azerbaijan's Shusha

By Trend

Russian peacekeepers [temporarily stationed in Azerbaijan in accordance with trilateral statement of November 10, 2020 signed between Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders following the second Karabakh war] are changing place of their containers at an area of peaceful protests near Shusha city, Trend reports from the scene.

Representatives of Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been protesting close to the Russian peacekeepers' temporary deployment area, for the thirteenth day. The peaceful protest is being held against the inadmissibility of Azerbaijani specialists to the territory, to monitor the illicit exploitation of the country's mineral resources.

Previously, following the talks 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 were going to begin preliminary monitoring of the illicit mineral resource exploitation, as well as emerging environmental implications on Azerbaijani lands, where the Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, on December 10, 2022.

The expert team was expected to inspect the environmental condition 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, when arriving in the monitoring area, the expert group, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, 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 for the entire process to carry on.