Armenia hopes that after the border delimitation process is completed, it will have the opportunity to implement joint environmental programs with Azerbaijan and other neighboring countries, as well as restore the ecological damage caused over the past decades.

Armenian Minister of Environment Hambardzum Matevosyan, who is also the President of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, being held in the Armenian capital Yerevan, on Monday stated this, responding to a reporter's question about the ecocide committed by the Azerbaijani side in Armenia's Shikahogh Reserve and the mass felling of trees in the Jermuk city region of Armenia.

Media members wanted to know whether COP17 could become a platform, including for backstage discussions, where Armenia would be able to raise the issues of ecological damage caused by Azerbaijani military in Shikahogh Reserve, as well as the recent mass felling of trees in Jermuk.

Matevosyan stated that his position on this issue has not changed: any environmental problem and disaster deserves condemnation. “At COP17, as well as at other conferences being held within the framework of the Rio de Janeiro conventions and in general during multilateral environmental negotiations, we constantly talk about the fact that environmental problems are not limited to individual countries and borders.

Nature does not recognize borders, therefore our decisions and policies should not recognize them either,” the minister noted.

At the same time, Matevosyan emphasized that for him, as a citizen and a representative of the political authorities of Armenia, the country’s national interests remain the priority. “When it comes to borders and our relations with neighbors, we are guided by the peace agenda,” he stated.

According to the minister, he hopes that after the completion of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation, Armenia will be able to jointly implement environmental programs not only with Azerbaijan, but also with other neighboring states.

Matevosyan noted that international funds enable countries to jointly submit projects in a single package. He expressed confidence that after the aforesaid border delimitation is completed, such opportunities will also appear for Armenia.

“We will try to restore all the ecological losses that we have suffered over the past decades,” concluded the minister of environment of Armenia.