All the accumulated indicators show that the Ministry of Environment of the Russian Federation didn’t agree on receiving Lebanon’s waste.
Last Sunday, the 7th of February, was the date fixed by the official Lebanese authorities working on the case of suspicious export of waste, to sign the contract with the company “Chinook”, which wasn’t the case. Due to that the date was rescheduled to last Wednesday, dated February 10. That day also passed without signing the contract and a carry for the third time has occurred but without specifying a new date. A period between 24 and 48 hours occurred, with the hope that the delegate of the company “Chinook” returns from Moscow. Noting that he has traveled to Russia where the authorities rapidly took their decision on the issuance of an official document embodying their consent, but this didn’t happen.
The concerned authorities announced that the company “Chinook” presented to them an unofficial document that indicates the approval of a Russian side as to the reception of Lebanon’s waste. But it turns out that it is not the concerned authority and not the one competent to sign documents concerning the importation of waste from a country Party to the Basel Convention (Lebanon), as the system and the obligations of this agreement. Noting that Russia is also party of this Convention and the Ministry of Environment and the Federal Russian natural resources are working seriously for its implementation.
We are in permanent contact with powerful representatives of Russian civil society and with several environmental activists and organizations, to monitor the position of the competent Russian authorities involved in the case.
Indeed, the co-president of the world organization IPEN and the President of the Russian organization Eco-Accord, Dr. Olga Speranskaya, contacted the Department of Environment and federal natural resources of Russia and affirmed officially on Monday, the 1st of February that no one in the ministry concerned by the subject of the import of waste, knows anything about it, nor about the identity of the Russian company that has already agreed to sign the contract with the company “Chinook” concerning the Lebanese waste.
Dr. Olga continued that she works with a number of environmental organizations operating in Russia, such as “Greenpeace – Russia,” in order to build a broad coalition of civil society for the empowerment of relevant Russian authorities on this case.
Friday, February 12, Dr. Olga Speranskaya received a call from the Department of Environment and federal natural resources of Russia saying that Russia doesn’t intend to import waste from Lebanon and will never deliver any document that accepts this.
Dr. Olga made a formal written request to the Russian Minister of the environment to officially confirm the issue and she received phone calls from important people in the Ministry declaring the lack of intention of Russia to import waste from Lebanon.
