The EITI MSG of Armenia strongly condemns the aggression of Azerbaijan against the peaceful population of Artsakh and Armenia

The EITI Multi-stakeholder Group of Armenia strongly condemns the aggression of Azerbaijan against the peaceful population of Artsakh and Armenia and declares that:

• Azerbaijani expanded hostilities to the territory of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia, being actively encouraged by political and military support of Turkey, which hires foreign terrorist fighters from Syria and Libya to fight on Azeri side, poses a serious threat to the peoples, economy and stability of the region,
• Membership of Azerbaijan in EITI was suspended due to non-compliance with the EITI requirements derived from democratic values,
• Good management of the extractive sector should contribute to the well-being of the country’s citizens,
• Non-transparent governance of natural resources leads to illegal economic activities, such as money laundering, financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism, the results of which lead to hostilities against the civilian population and growth of international corruption.

Lilya Shushanyan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia and MSG member, sent a letter to the EITI Board and particularly to the companies and investors representatives in the Board, some of which have investments in Azerbaijan. In the letter, the Deputy Minister raised the importance of Responsible Investments principle and proposed to reconsider their investment decisions in various projects, demonstrating that principles adopted by the EITI Standard should make a real impact.