Armenian Environment Minister Hakob Simidyan, on April 3, further opened the door for a controversial massive statue of Jesus Christ that local businessman Gagik Tsarukyan wants to erect atop Mt. Hatis, some thirty kilometers northeast of Yerevan.

Simidyan signed off on an environmental impact assessment (EIA) which concludes that the statue, slated to be built on land recently purchased by Tsarukyan’s charitable foundation, poses negligible risk to the area even though the Armenian government, in 2008, recognized the extinct Hatis volcano as a geological monument.

In July 2022, Hetq wrote that Tsarukyan purchased large plots of land on Mt. Hatis  at rock bottom prices.

The EIA claims the statue will be built outside areas designated as “protected” and that “everything will be done to avoid any negative impact.”

The ministry says it will hold Tsarukyan’s feet to the fire to ensure that the 33 meter-high statue, accompanied by a café, exhibition hall, and cable car, will not impact the area’s natural beauty.