Armenia could undertake joint environmental initiatives with Azerbaijan and other neighboring countries after border delimitation is completed, Environment Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan said during a COP17 discussion.
The minister made the remarks in response to a question about deforestation carried out by Azerbaijan near Jermuk and within the Shikahogh Nature Reserve, Sputnik Armenia reports.
“Various funds offer countries opportunities to submit proposals as a single comprehensive package. I am confident that once border delimitation work is completed, we will have such an opportunity and will seek to restore the environmental losses we have suffered over the past several decades,” Matevosyan said.
The minister stressed that any environmental disaster deserves condemnation, regardless of the country in which it occurs. He argued that environmental problems cannot be confined to individual states because nature does not recognize national borders.
He noted that environmental issues are very important to him, but Armenia’s priorities are even more important.
“When we discuss border issues and our relations with neighboring countries, our policy is guided by the peace agenda,” Matevosyan stated.
No criminal proceedings have been initiated over the damage caused to the forest ecosystems of the Shikahogh Nature Reserve. At the same time, Armenia’s Ministry of Environment has avoided using the term “logging,” instead describing the incident as follows: “The reserve’s forest ecosystems in certain border areas sustained some damage as a result of the 2021 military conflict.”
