Due to the blockade of Artsakh, Azerbaijani farmers will not receive sufficient water to irrigate 96,000 hectares of land this spring, this according to Artsakh Minister of State Adviser Artak Beglaryan.

Beglaryan writes that Azerbaijan’s policy of interrupting the supply of electricity and natural gas from Armenia to Artsakh as a means to politically pressure Artsakh will have severe consequences for Azerbaijanis living in the surrounding region as well.

Beglaryan writes the power cuts have forced Artsakh authorities to drain more water from the Sarsang Reservoir to power the country’s main hydroelectric power plant, limiting the water allocated for irrigation.  

The Sarsang Reservoir, and the nearby hydro power plant that generates 40-60% of Artsakh’s electricity, are in Artsakh’s northern Martakert region,.

“Therefore, the residents of these regions of Azerbaijan should be aware that thanks to their authorities and the self-proclaimed fake eco-activists, they will not have irrigation water this year and will be deprived of food and income,” Beglaryan writes.

The Sarsang Reservoir was built on the Tartar River in 1976 and provided irrigation water to the Azerbaijani district of Tartar, Aghdam, Barda, Goranboy, Yevlakh and Aghjabadi.