Erik Grigoryan Collaborates with Lydian Armenia

The Ministry of Environment recently published a document proposing new inspections at Amulsar. According to 168.am, this is an interesting fact, considering that Minister Erik Grigoryan was previously accused of having worked with Lydian. It turns out that, on the contrary, the Prime Minister states that there is no basis for obstructing the work, while the Minister of Environment provides grounds for new inspections.

Lydian Armenia's director Hayk Aloyan was asked about this situation.
– Mr. Aloyan, has Erik Grigoryan truly worked for Lydian?
– One of the British consulting firms we hired contracted Erik Grigoryan regarding Amulsar, as far as I remember, to organize meetings with non-governmental organizations and to provide other consulting services in that field. He worked closely with us, was familiar with all our studies, and at least we had the opportunity to say that he learned a lot from us regarding environmental management.

– So, is he well acquainted with all the details of the project?
– I believe that if there is one official who knows very well that the environmental impact assessment of the Amulsar project is the best and that the Amulsar project has applied exceptional environmental standards and does not need any additional inspections, it is Erik Grigoryan.

– In that case, how do you explain that during this past year Erik Grigoryan has not expressed a clear opinion about Amulsar, the Prime Minister insists that he said he cannot guarantee the quality of the EIA, and now he is also providing grounds for new investigations?
– I can only speculate that this may be a simple human complex. To prove impartiality, they might deliberately pursue, target, and attack Amulsar. As a result, due to the personal agendas of some individuals, the country’s best investment and economy are suffering.

– Are you implying that there is a manifestation of corruption in this regard?
– Judge for yourself: the ministry has been expending effort, energy, time, and resources for over a year in a successful attempt to identify non-existent issues in the Amulsar project. Have you heard of such diligence from the ministry concerning any other mine? You tell me, what do you call it when personal issues are prioritized over public interest?

– Are there inspections happening at Amulsar now?
– No, the roads are closed, the urgency has not been removed, and the next conditional 500th discriminatory inspections have not yet begun.