YEREVAN, September 27 Press Secretary of the Ministry Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ani Badalyan stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will make every effort to protect the rights and return of businessman Ruben Vardanyan, the former head of the unrecognized authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh, detained by the Azerbaijani authorities.
Earlier, the press service of the State Border Service of Azerbaijan reported that the former state minister of unrecognized Karabakh Ruben Vardanyan was detained while trying to leave Azerbaijani territory in the direction of Armenia. In 2022, Vardanyan renounced Russian citizenship; Russian President Vladimir Putin at the end of last year granted Vardanyan’s application to renounce Russian citizenship.
“The Armenian Foreign Ministry will take all possible measures to ensure the protection of Ruben Vardanyan’s rights and his return. In this regard, we expect the assistance of Russia and other international partners,” Badalyan told Sputnik Armenia.
A native of Yerevan, Ruben Vardanyan is known as the founder of the investment company Troika Dialog and the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo. The media estimated his fortune at a billion dollars. Vardanyan served as head of the government of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh from October 2022 to February 2023.