“At least at this moment we have no legal justification to ban the operation of the Amulsar mine,” Prime Minister Pashinyan declared in a Facebook broadcast, and asked the people of Jermuk to open the road leading to the mine.
“I ask that the roads leading to the Amulsar mine be unblocked, and I bring the final argument on this matter. Because you have no need to close those roads, since you have a government that, if it sees that there is a need to close those roads, will go with its own leverage, with the powers vested in it by law, and will close the road and everything else as well,” the Prime Minister declared.
Pashinyan stressed that public concerns are being taken into account, but also the concerns of economists: “We cannot fail to take into account the concerns of the economic community either, as to what consequences this could have for Armenia’s overall economy if we do not show the right approach on this issue.”
In recent days, Prime Minister Pashinyan has had meetings with representatives of “Lydian” and received assurances that the mine’s operation is 100 percent safe.
“And I said, but we understand, don’t we, that if there are deviations from these statements, certain actions follow under the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, and in the case of such deviations, 90 days are given to eliminate the deviation. If it is not eliminated, the mine will be closed, and no one can raise any objection. Let us record this and imagine it.”
The Prime Minister stressed that if after all this we say we see dangers and ban the mine’s operation, questions will arise in the international arena as to how, in that case, the Zangezur and Teghut mines are permitted. “We could have a very serious international problem when it suddenly becomes clear, or as a result of mistakes we have made it turns out, that we are showing discriminatory approaches.”
Another risk, according to Pashinyan, is that “Moody’s” recently raised Armenia’s rating, which means cheap money and credit entering Armenia. That rating could waver. “We have certain signals indicating that if we do not manage this situation precisely, do not show a precise state approach to this situation, then that could lead to a deterioration of Armenia’s rating.”
The Prime Minister addressed the request to open the mine’s road to the people of Jermuk several times. “If the roads to the Amulsar mine are opened today, construction there will not begin at least until April 2020.”
