On 20 June, representatives of a US-Armenian joint venture confirmed their intention to continue building a steel plant in the Armenian border village, despite ongoing gunfire on the border with Azerbaijan. 

The construction site in Yeraskh, a village 55 kilometers south of Yerevan, has been subjected to frequent cross-border fire over the past week. This escalation in tensions along various parts of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border has heightened security risks for those working at the site. On June 14, two Indian nationals employed at the construction site suffered serious injuries from the cross-border fire.

The US State Department stated it was deep concerned that two civilian employees of a U.S.-affiliated company in Armenia sustained injuries from gunfire from the direction of Azerbaijan. In a show of support and solidarity, several foreign diplomats, including ambassadors from France, Germany, and China-based in Yerevan, visited the village of Yeraskh on June 15.

The joint venture, led by an Armenian investor and GTB Steel, a company registered in Sri Lanka and allegedly owned by a US citizen of Armenian origin, demonstrated its defiance by raising both the Armenian and US flags at the construction site on Tuesday.

“We will carry on with the works regardless of whether or not they will shoot at us,” Tigran Hakobian, the chief executive, told reporters. “At some point, they [the Azerbaijanis] will understand that we will not leave and will not play by those rules of the game.”

As the Armenian Defense Ministry reported, Azerbaijani forces engaged in another round of gunfire targeting the Yeraskh construction site late in the afternoon, following the flag hoisting ceremony. Baku denied this claim. 

The Azerbaijani government had previously opposed the construction project, asserting that it violated international environmental norms and required its permission. However, Yerevan dismissed these claims and proceeded with the project.