Tense Situation in Alaverdi Continues

Hraparak.am reports that the situation in Alaverdi remains tense. For the third consecutive day, local residents have been staging acts of civil disobedience. The people have blocked the railway route and are demanding the resumption of operations at the factory.

Governor Andrey Ghukasian's appeal for residents to return home, as well as today's meeting with representatives of VTB Bank, the owner of the Alaverdi Copper Smelter, has yielded no results.

According to reports from South Caucasian Railways, the Russian side is demanding that Armenian authorities take action to open the road to Georgia. Estimates suggest that the company is losing about $2 million per day due to the closure of the railway.

In Alaverdi, rumors are circulating that behind the protests is the former owner of the smelter, Valery Medzhlumyan, president of the Valex Group, who is allegedly trying to reclaim the factory and is making new proposals to VTB at any cost.