Authorities of Kyrgyzstan could face serious problems as they try to take control of the Kumtor gold mine. An expert at the Carnegie Moscow Center, Temur Umarov, told Lenta.ru.
In his opinion, it is practically impossible for the government of the republic to win the international arbitration initiated by the Canadian investors. The only way to nationalize Kumtor is to «take over by force and physically expel the Canadians.» But this could entail big consequences in the form of sanctions, the expert believes.
Temur Umarov believes that all this will damage the image of the President Sadyr Japarov, who promised to restore the country’s economy in two years.
«He is in a difficult situation. I don’t think he will be able to somehow gain a foothold in popularity. His popularity will decline,» he said.
According to the expert, as a result, Sadyr Japarov, at best for him, will serve his term to the end, and at worst, he will be overthrown, like many of his predecessors.
Kumtor has once again become the subject of a dispute between the country’s authorities and the Canadian investor. The deputies of the Parliament created another state commission, and Centerra was forced to appeal to the courts.
Centerra Gold Inc. announced the commencement of arbitration proceedings against the government of the Kyrgyz Republic to protect its rights in accordance with many years’ investment agreements. The company is trying to prevent the country’s government from taking further steps to enforce a recently passed law or a recently passed judgment on fines and tax claims against the Kumtor Gold Company (KGC), each of which violates the government’s investment agreements related to the Kumtor mine.
The Financial Times also reported on possible sanctions against the government of the Kyrgyz Republic.
