 Armenia will answer in court for the damage of ecology of Karabakh. Azerbaijan declares that Armenia has seriously damaged the ecology of Karabakh for 30 years. Therefore, Armenia was brought to the International Court. Azerbaijan's effort is the first ever interstate arbitration under the Council of Europe's Burn Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats. It alleges that Armenia caused widespread environmental destruction during its 30-year illegal occupation of Azerbaijan's territory. Both countries are signatories to the Binding International Treaty, along with the EU and over 50 other countries. But it has never before been used to arbitrate ecological issues between two nations. Over the last two years, we have unearthed shocking evidence of environmental damage in the territories liberated in the 2020 war. Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Elnur Mamadov told Politico, there has been damage to animal life and biodiversity. There was and continues to be exploitation of natural resources and pollution from industry that harms our ecosystems to this day. According to him, over 500 species in Nagorno-Karabakh are now at risk, including leopards, brown bears, grey wolves and eagles. An interlocking landscape of icy mountains, sunny open plains and green woodland, the southern Caucasus is one of the world's richest biospheres and decades of war have undoubtedly taken a toll on nature, with swathes of territory now off limits due to minefields laid by both sides. We have two objectives. One is about gaining legal recognition of these violations and drawing attention from the international community. The second is security preparations and compensation. Mamadov said, previous arbitrations have taken up to four years to conclude, he added, and Azerbaijan has now appointed its representative for the arbitration and is waiting for Armenia to do the same before the claim is considered. Mamadov, the Azerbaijani minister, insists his country isn't playing politics with its claim. This is a serious effort to secure justice. We said after 2020 that we want to turn the page and deliver peace for the region, but we will also hold those responsible for past violations to account, he said. Of course, it sets a precedent and we are interested in seeing what the tribunal makes of the case. It should be noted that the Ukrainian government has also been recording the environmental impact of Moscow's invasion, as Russian troops have devastated chemical plants, oil depots, water facilities and even nuclear power plants as well as fields, forests and wildlife reserves. The effort is both aimed at eventually securing compensation and at underlining the illegitimacy of Russia's presence in Ukraine.