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The former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, Ruben Vardanyan, was arrested on Wednesday, September 27, in Azerbaijan by the border security forces. Vardanyan was allegedly on his way to escape to Armenia when he got detained. He was one of the several thousand Armenians who fled the area of Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan authorities seized the area.
Ruben Vardanyan served as the State Minister of the region and is also a wealthy business with a net worth of $1.2 billion. Following his arrest, Vardanyan's wife has appealed to gain support for ensuring his safe release. The businessman acquired Armenian citizenship in 2021, and became the State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh a year later, in October 2022.
Former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, Ruben Vardanyan, has been escorted to Baku where he will be handed over to state agencies
55-year-old Ruben Vardanyan has been taken into custody while he attempted to flee the recently acquired region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Guardian reported that after the Azerbaijani authorities got control and got into villages, over 40℅ of the population and left the area to cross the border and move to Armenia.
Veronika Zonabend addressed the arrest of her husband, and said,
"Ruben has stood with the Arsakh people during the 10-month blockade and has suffered with them in their struggle for survival."
Ruben Vardanyan stated in a recent interview with The Guardian that he was aware that the Azerbaijani soldiers would be targetting him.
He added:
"It’s life. 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."
Vardanyan had made significant contribution to the stock market and business world while being in Russia
Previously, Ruben Vardanyan had accused Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, of launching an "ethnic cleansing" campaign against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Vardanyan had further called sanctions against Azerbaijan.
Veronika Zonabend further spoke about her husband's arrest, and said,
"My husband, Ruben Vardanyan, the philanthropist, businessman and former minister of state of Artsakh, has been arrested and held captive by the Azerbaijani authorities at the border as he attempted to leave this morning, along with thousands of Armenians escaping Azerbaijani occupation."
The Azerbaijani government released an image capturing the arrest of Vardanyan. The government further stated that he had illegally entered the territory, and was later taken to the country's capital. Zonabend said that the photos being circulated, showing her husband's arrest were awful in nature.
She added,
"He left a message yesterday evening to say that he was safe but I did not know his exact plans. Since the 19th of September he had been calling to say that he is alive."
His business had made notable contributions to the Russian stock market. Ruben is also the co-founder of an investment company and has also co-founded Troika Dialog in Russia.
