Talks on mining companies influencing the position of foreign embassies in Armenia are senseless, told Ms Katherine Leach, the UK ambassador to Armenia, at the Conference on Responsible mining on March 25 in Yerevan.

Answering the question on whether the forum had been sponsored by foreign-pwned mining companies to advocate their business practices, she answered that the financing for the conference was sourced from different organizations, including the World Bank, the European bank of Reconstruction and Development, foreign embassies, and of course the Government of Armenia.

The ambassador of Germany Reiner Morell told that the environmental NGOs are essential in building up civil society in Armenia. «We are not against any NGO or civil society on the whole. It's just the contrary, we want to give them momentum. Both sides – environmentalists and business - have to learn how to engage and learn to interact», he told.