Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov said that Ruben Vardanyan, who is the state minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, had to leave the territory of the unrecognized republic. In Baku, Vardanyan was described as an “alien element”.
“His activities are criminal and adventurous in nature. We believe this must end. “The sooner this person leaves this area, the better it will be for everyone, first of all, the local population suffers from it,” Bairamov said at a joint press conference with his Russian colleague Sergey Lavrov (TASS excerpt).
As the Azerbaijani minister stressed, Vardanyan’s activity “prevents the reintegration of local people”, which becomes a “very harmful and destabilizing” factor affecting the whole situation.
At the same time, “before it appeared” in Karabakh, “there were already positive contacts, positive projects,” Bayramov believes.
The head of the department urged “all interested parties” to promote the reintegration of the Armenian population and declared that Baku was ready to take steps in this direction.
Lavrov’s answer
Lavrov emphasized that Vardanyan, who renounced his Russian citizenship, “has nothing to do with the Russian Federation”.
“And the Russian authorities have nothing to do with it. At his request, a presidential decree was recently signed – he is no longer a citizen of Russia. And we have not had, will not and will not have any lawsuits regarding his decision to go to Karabakh and start participating in political life,” he said.
How did Vardanyan come to Karabakh?
In connection with the next exacerbation of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Vardanyan moved to Nagorno-Karabakh in September and decided to give up his Russian passport. He also holds Armenian citizenship (Vardanyan was born in Yerevan). December 22 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Decision to deprive a businessman of citizenship of the Russian Federation.
November 4 Nagorno-Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan appointed Vardanyan was appointed as the Minister of State. In this role, he coordinated the work of the heads of the Ministries of Health, Justice, Foreign Affairs, Regional Administration and Infrastructure, Urban Development, Agriculture, Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Social Development and Migration, Finance and Economy.
The post of state minister of Nagorno-Karabakh was introduced in 2017 following the referendum on the new constitution.
Vardanyan is the chairman of the investment company Vardanyan, Broitman and Partners, as well as the co-founder of the RVVZ Foundation family fund and the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo. He ranks 116th in the ranking of the 200 richest businessmen in Russia – 2021. by journal forbesHis fortune reached $1 billion.
Vardanyan’s first big job was the investment company Troika Dialog. Vardanyan founded it in 1991 together with the American Peter Derby. Troika was sold to Sberbank for $1.4 billion in 2011.
new violence
On December 14, Armenia appealed to the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights regarding the blockade of the Lachin corridor, a six-kilometer highway connecting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, by unidentified persons from Azerbaijan.
As a result of the Second Karabakh War, a peacekeeping force of the Russian Federation was deployed in the Lachin corridor. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan blamed Russia directly for the closure of the route. According to him, peacekeepers are not fulfilling their obligations to control the corridor. The politician also urged the UN, OSCE or OSCE Minsk Group to send their observation missions to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Source: Gazeta
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.