Azerbaijani’s Threats to Hit the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant a Crime Against Humanity

Azerbaijani’s threats to hit the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant is nothing but a crime against humanity and should receive appropriate response from the international community, Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Suren Papikyan said in an address to the 64th Annual Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference

Armenia will continue to make every effort to prevent such threats in the future, he said.
“In these difficult conditions of the fight against coronavirus, Armenia faced an extremely dangerous and unprecedented challenge for the security of our country and the whole region. I am talking about the real threat of a missile strike on the Metsamor nuclear power plant, which was voiced by the representative of the neighboring state of Armenia. Moreover, it was declared that the aim of this strike is to inflict catastrophic damage on Armenia and its people,” Suren Papikyan said.

“For the first time, we are facing a situation where the real threat to the safety of the nuclear power plant comes not from a terrorist organization, but from a state through its official representative. Moreover, a state that positions itself before the international community as its responsible member is a full-fledged subject of international relations,” the Minister stated.

“As it turned out, our international law and its toolkit have not fully taken into account the emergence of such threats. Unfortunately, to date, the international community does not have effective containment mechanisms to prevent potential threats to the safety of nuclear power plants by states, and lacks tools to respond effectively to the threats that have already been made,” Minister Papikyan stated.