Epress.am News from Armenia
Last year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development agreed to provide a $10 million USD loan to the Russian VTB Bank. SOS Teghut, the group defending Armenia’s Teghut forest from open-pit mining, considers this gesture as an indirect, but criminal support of the initiative to exploit Teghut forest.
SOS Tegut activists today organized a protest demo in front of the European Bank’s Yerevan office.
As told to Epress.am by Teghut activist Hrayr Savzyan, the bank’s director invited a few of the activists to speak to him, wherein the youth presented their demands and submitted a letter to bank representatives, who promised to respond to the activists’ letter soon.
“We’re asking that they condemn the actions of their colleague VTB [Bank]. If that doesn’t work, we will appeal [to the European Bank] not to finance [VTB] at all, not to transfer the $10 million,” said Savzyan.
According to the activists, however, a part of the amount has already been transferred to VTB.