On November 23, the PACE Committee on Social Affairs adopted another anti-Armenian draft resolution - this time on Sarsang reservoir - "Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deprived of water".
APA reports that "the adopted document assesses the deliberate creation of the ecological crisis as 'ecological aggression'. The document also notes that the creation of zones of ecological disaster and an attempt to make it impossible for the normal living of the population in these areas should be seen as a hostile move against one state to another, and condition of Sarsang dam can cause casualties and disasters, accompanied by a new humanitarian crisis", the draft resolution says.
"PACE demanded the immediate withdrawal of Armenian troops from the zone of Sarsang reservoir, and called for ending the use of water resources for the benefit of one of the parties to the conflict or as a means of pressure on the other. PACE condemned the refusal of the delegation of the parliament and the government of Armenia to cooperate in the preparation of this report. Such an attitude is contrary to the obligations of Armenia as a full member of the PACE," the source says.
To recall, Bosnian rapporteur on the issue of Sarsang Reservoir Milica Markovic and a member of the Armenian Delegation to PACE Vahan Babayan burst into heated arguments during discussion of the draft report on the Sarsang reservoir at the PACE Committee for Social Affairs. Markovic, in particular, blamed Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh for creating obstacles to her visit to Armenia and the NKR for preparation of the report. She warned to prepare the report without visiting the countries if she gets no opportunity to do it by October 31. In response, the Armenian parliamentarian Vahan Babanyan said Armenia did not refuse to receive the rapporteur. "We just said that we will be able to organize the visit in November 2015," he said adding that PACE is not the very platform where one can speak with ultimatums. He said that Markovic has not visited the Sarsang reservoir just because of her unwillingness to apply for permission to the NKR authorities. The Armenian delegation has repeatedly explained to her that it is a necessity, while Markovic refuses to apply to the NKR as it is an unrecognized country.
Sarsang reservoir was built on Tartar river in 1976. The area of the reservoir is 14.2 km2 (5.5 sq mi). The overall volume of the reservoir is 575 million m The height of the dam at the reservoir is 125 m (410 ft). The reservoir has the tallest dam out of all dams in Artsakh. Since opening, the reservoir has provided irrigation water for 100,000 ha (1,000,000 km) of agricultural lands in Tartar. Sarsang Hydro Power Plant with capacity of 50 megawatt is based on the reservoir and operated by Artsakh HEK OJSC. It is the main source of electric energy for Nagorno- Karabakh Republic (40-60%). With its beautiful surrounding nature, Sarsang reservoir is expected to be one of the major tourism centers of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in the long run.