The RA Ministry of Environment received and responded to Azerbaijan's letter regarding the metal smelter being built in Yeraskh. Ani Hakobyan stated this, the press secretary of the Minister of Environment, in a conversation with Radar Armenia.

"We have responded to the accusation and mentioned the standards by which the factory will operate. The factory is not being built with any violations. Armenia demands that Azerbaijan stop the use of illegal force on the sovereign territory of Armenia by shooting in the direction of the construction site, because as a result of this, workers were harmed and there are material losses. That behavior grossly violates some of the articles of the Convention that they pointed out, and Armenia is committed to all international obligations," said the spokesperson.

The Ministry of Environment provided Radar Armenia with Minister Hakob Simidyan's response letter, which we present below:

"In response to your 2023 In letter dated July 7, I am reporting on the application addressed to Armenia for the metallurgical plant being built in the village of Yeraskh, Ararat Marz, Republic of Armenia, under the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espo) "to exchange sufficient information to ensure the holding of effective consultations on harmful transboundary impacts.", that:

Armenia does not consider that it is obliged to notify Azerbaijan according to Article 3 (1) of the Espoo Convention or exchange information with Azerbaijan regarding the planned activities according to Article 3 (7) of the same Convention.

Article 3(1) requires the Party of origin to notify a Party it considers may be an affected Party of an intended activity only if two conditions are met: (i) the intended activity is listed in Annex I to the Convention, and ( ii) it is "an activity with significant cross-border harmful effects". None of the conditions are present.

The intended activity is processing tiny volumes of ferrous metal scrap exclusively using an electrically powered induction furnace, which is not a type of activity listed in Annex I of the Convention.

Azerbaijan still needs to clarify to which point the planned activity is related in Annex I. Accordingly, the procedure referred to in Article 3(7) of the Convention, which Azerbaijan refers to and which applies to cases where the appropriate notification under Article 3(1) of the Convention has not been implemented, does not refer to the type of activity envisaged in Armenia.

Moreover, in response to the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan in 2023. In the statement of June 7, where it was mentioned that the operation of the Yeraskh plant would hurt the environment, the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia clearly stated that the plant is being built by all environmental standards and requirements. The owner of the factory, "GTB Steel" LLC, also gave assurances about it, where it was noted that modern technologies would be introduced to exclude all possible adverse effects on the environment.

Therefore, there is no basis for Azerbaijan's demand regarding the "immediate termination of the construction works" of the factory by the Espoo Convention.

Based on the above, Armenia demands that Azerbaijan stop using illegal force on the sovereign territory of Armenia by firing in the direction of the construction site. The actions of Azerbaijan seriously injured two innocent employees and caused significant material losses. Azerbaijan's behavior grossly violates the obligation outlined in Article 15 of the Espoo Convention: "In the event of a dispute arising between the Parties, the Parties shall seek to settle it through negotiations or any other method at their discretion."

Armenia maintains all its rights under international law."