The 9th Nevsky International Ecological Congress on “Ecology of the Planet: Sustainable Development’’ took place in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The Congress is held by the Ministry of  Natural Resources and Environment of  the Russian Federation , under the Federal Assembly of  the Russian Federation, with the participation of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member Nations.
Since 2008, the Congress has acquired a high reputation over the years, becoming a major international platform in the sphere of nature protection, adopted by the governments, parliaments, business and scientific circles of the countries. Acting Minister of Environment Romanos Petrosyan participated in the Congress.
Through roundtables, a number of issues were discussed on integrated management of  water and forest resources, eco-education and ecotourism, exchange of national strategies and projects in the sphere of environmental protection with the participation of high-ranking officials of governments and parliaments of dozens of countries, scientists-experts and leading international organizations; it was made a refernce to  the climate agenda, the new climate policy, the "green" energy, modern challenges for circular economy development. There took place discussions and exchange of experience regarding the improvement of legislation on the protection and use of natural resources, unified approaches directed to the protection of ecosystems.Acting Minister of Environment of the Republic of Armenia Romanos Petrosyan delivered a speech on May 27,  at the plenary session of the Congress.
Submitting the position of the Government of the Republic of Armenia on the environmental protection strategy, priorities for overcoming environmental problems, achievements of the sphere and further actions, the Minister remarkably noted that the policy of the sectorial management of the Republic of Armenia is directed to comprehensive protection, improvement, restoration of the environment, in accordance with the principle of balancing social justice and economic efficiency. As a unique environmental management issue, the Government of the Republic of Armenia attaches importance to  the reduction of harmful impacts on the environment, as well as the implementation of necessary preventive measures to prevent the overexploitation of natural resources and illegal use.
Perceiving environmental main issues and governance as a prerequisite for sustainable development, as well as to make some contribution to international efforts to combat global environmental issues, the Ministry of Environment has initiated large-scale institutional and legislative reforms meant for increasing environmental management efficiency.
Taking into consideration the transnational nature of the existing challenges and the global level, Romanos Petrosyan urged  the countries to join efforts in solving environmental problems.
Acting Minister Romanos Petrosyan used this high-level platform and audience to once again voice and to draw the attention of the international community to the consequences of the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan in September 2020 during the plenary session of the conference, which was attended by about 800 participants from different countries.
The Acting Minister referred to the war crimes against the people of Artsakh during the 44-day war, humanitarian and environmental crisis caused by use of banned weapons. He spoke about the continued  aggression and harassments of the Azerbaijani side against the Republic of Armenia after the end of the war.