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The UK spent years lobbying for this Armenian goldmine. Now Russia is funding it

This flagship Western investment, backed strongly by the UK, will receive funds from a bank 44% owned by Russia

By Thomas Rowley and James Dowsett
The UK spent years lobbying for this Armenian goldmine. Now Russia is funding it
Summer 2020: protesters standoff with police outside Lydian International's Amulsar gold mine | Source: Armenian Environmental Front
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A Russian-backed development bank is set to finance a controversial mining project in Armenia which has been lobbied for heavily by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), in which Russia holds a 44% interest, is now committed to investing $100m in the Amulsar gold mine in Armenia – which the UK has closely supported over the past decade.

The breakthrough deal comes after the UK has spent the past 12 months attempting to cut off the Russian state’s access to the international finance system via sanctions.

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0