By raising the flags of Armenia and the United States, we record that we will not leave here, and will continue the construction of the plant. Director of GTB Holding, Tiran Hakobyan, said this to reporters in Yeraskh village of Armenia’s Ararat Province Tuesday, with respect to the metallurgical plant being built in this rural community.

"We do not assume that raising the flags will give us military protection and so on; it is just the record of the decision of our board of directors. By raising the flags, we record our decision that we will not go anywhere from here, and will continue the construction of the plant. The only subject for us to be here, to carry out activities, to build and not build something, to agree and disagree is the Republic of Armenia. We have that permission, the desire, from the Republic of Armenia, and all the documents stipulated by the law to build the plant here," said Hakobyan.

When asked why it was decided to raise the flags of the two countries now, Hakobyan said that they had not felt the need until now.

According to him, the Azerbaijani side is targeting the construction equipment for two reasons: to scare and to disable the equipment.

"After the first shooting, there were shootings every day. Raising flags may have a purely psychological factor to them. We will continue to work whether [they] shoot or not. We have to build the plant in this area. At some point, they will understand that we will not go and play by those rules of the game," said Hakobyan.

He said that the Azerbaijanis on Monday targeted the plant crane which was used in order to raise the flagpoles.

Hakobyan said that the construction of the plant will continue from today.

"We will petition to all possible international bodies, and we will use all the tools—both in the legislative field of the Republic of Armenia, the European Union, and the United States—so that they [i.e. the Azerbaijanis] understand that any shot will not go unanswered—both in the legislative and defense fields," said Hakobyan.

Asked whether the company will resort to the intervention of the US authorities if Azerbaijan takes such steps again, Hakobyan responded: "We have been in direct contact with the US representatives since the first shot. They are aware of the whole process. I believe appropriate actions and conclusions are being made."

Referring to the argument of the Azerbaijani side that metal processing can pollute the Araks River, Tiran Hakobyan said: "We do not affect the Araks in any way related to water. We are located about 6 kilometers away [from the river], and use surface water in a closed cycle; that is, we consume water only in the form of evaporation. Both the ministry of environmental protection [of Armenia] and independent experts have issued very detailed reports about it."

He said that the construction of the metallurgical plant is planned to be completed by the end of this year.

And with respect to the health condition of the two Indian citizens who were wounded as a result of the shootings by the Azerbaijani side on June 14, Hakobyan said that they continue their treatment at the Ararat city hospital for the time being.

"Everything is normal; they are in the process of recovery," added the director of GTB Holding.