Kyrgyzstan's parliament has given the government three months to renegotiate the terms of a 2009 financial agreement on the Kumtor gold mine with Canada's Centerra Gold company.
The resolution adopted on February 21 after two days of debate orders the government to cancel the current contract if no compromise is reached in that timeframe.
The 2009 deal granted the company a low tax rate that officials say deprives the state budget of millions of dollars in revenue.
The Toronto-based mining giant Centerra Gold, which has operated the Kumtor mine since 1997, said earlier this month that any negotiations must take "existing legal obligations" into account.
Last June, Kyrgyzstan published a parliamentary report that said Cenetrra's operations were damaging the environment and the population's health.
Centerra said at the time the allegations were groundless.
The resolution adopted on February 21 after two days of debate orders the government to cancel the current contract if no compromise is reached in that timeframe.
The 2009 deal granted the company a low tax rate that officials say deprives the state budget of millions of dollars in revenue.
The Toronto-based mining giant Centerra Gold, which has operated the Kumtor mine since 1997, said earlier this month that any negotiations must take "existing legal obligations" into account.
Last June, Kyrgyzstan published a parliamentary report that said Cenetrra's operations were damaging the environment and the population's health.
Centerra said at the time the allegations were groundless.
