Armenia
Former state minister of Nagorno-Karabakh arrested by Azerbaijan
Ruben Vardanyan detained as he tried to cross into Armenia in first high-profile arrest since Azerbaijani offensive.
Azerbaijan has detained a former leader of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh government in its first high profile arrest since launching a lightning offensive last week that it said would lead to a “reintegration” of the territory into Azerbaijan.
Ruben Vardanyan, a wealthy businessman who had served as the state minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh republic, was detained as he tried to cross the border into Armenia on Wednesday morning, as one of more than 50,000 Armenians who have fled the region to avoid incoming Azerbaijani control.
Vardanyan made his fortune in investment banking in Russia before moving to the self-declared Nagorno-Karabakh republic in 2022, where he was appointed state minister. He was dismissed in February 2023, but remained a prominent figure in the region, which many Armenians call Artsakh.
In an interview with the Guardian last week before his arrest, he said that he knew he would be a target for Azerbaijani forces when the war started last week.
“It’s life,” he said. “If you are ready to die for your country, then it’s ok. It’s bad but something you have to be ready for if you’re doing something important… the end of the story can be very bad. And I was ready for it the first day, I knew it.”
As Azerbaijani forces have moved into villages and towns, more than 40% of the population of Karabakh have evacuated in just over 72 hours. Lire la suite »
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