No one needs Vardanyan anymore

Earlier this week, a conference dedicated to Russia's hybrid threats was held in Brussels. It is noteworthy that the name of the Armenian-Russian entrepreneur and fraudster Ruben Vardanyan was especially loud at the event as an example of a hybrid warfare tool. Vardanyan's question was raised by Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Yuriy Kamelchuk. The Ukrainian parliamentarian spoke indignantly about the nomination of this former Russian citizen for the Nobel Prize and informed the audience about his shady dealings and Vardanyan's direction to Karabakh in 2022.

The Alien is now under investigation in the Baku pre-trial detention center, and a certain initiative group presented him for the Nobel Prize under the pretext that he allegedly "prevented a humanitarian catastrophe in Karabakh during the escalation of the military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan." Kamelchuk stressed that Vardanyan had previously been included in the draft sanctions lists or directly in the sanctions lists of the European Parliament, the US Congress, and Ukraine. The Ukrainian MP called the proposal to add Vardanyan to the list of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize an attempt to whitewash the "Kremlin man" in the eyes of the European public and one of the tools of the Russian hybrid war.

Recall that a few days ago, 123 MEPs appealed to the Nobel Committee with a request to reject Vardanyan's candidacy in 2024 and any subsequent years. An open letter to the Nobel Committee says that "it is unacceptable to nominate for the Nobel Peace Prize a person who was directly involved in the implementation of the policy of misanthropic regimes." The MEPs called for not bleaching Vardanyan's image and pointed out, among other things, his ties to the Iranian regime. "His ties with Iran can be traced through the Russian Gorchakov Foundation, which organizes events in various countries, including Armenia, with the participation of government-approved speakers from Tehran," the statement said.

Welcoming this approach of the European deputies to the identity of the fraudster Vardanyan, we note that in Azerbaijan, from the very appearance of this type in Karabakh, they talked about his provocative "mission". The facts revealed by the Europeans are not a revelation to us. Rubik Vardanyan's shadow business activities are well known. As for Vardanyan's renunciation of Russian citizenship, this farce was part of a plan to introduce the fraudster into big politics in the face of anti-Russian sanctions. Baku understood this perfectly well, as can be seen from the statements of the country's leadership.

Sending Vardanyan to Khankendi was undoubtedly part of certain plans, but Azerbaijan destroyed them. The provocateur's stay under investigation is an absolutely logical ending to his biography. The Russian side disowned him and stepped aside, but today certain Western circles hanging out at the Armenian feeder are trying to take this type under their wing. 

Vardanyan's completely inadequate nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize is their work. In most cases, the authors of the nomination hardly knew who they were standing for at all, they were only aware of the figures received on their accounts. And therefore it is especially valuable that it is on the European platform that Vardanyan is spoken about without embellishment, but as he is. Even the money of his family and the diaspora does not help to present him in the guise of a "political prisoner." The tales thrown out on social networks about his alleged torment in the Baku pre-trial detention centre quickly disappeared from the discourse, obviously not interesting to anyone. That is, no one needs Vardanyan anymore. Moscow is not interested in his fate in principle, and in the West, they cannot stand up for him because of the unflattering background of Rubik, voiced in Brussels by a Ukrainian deputy.

The day before, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrel, answering questions from MEPs, said that "the EU firmly believes that confidence-building measures, including the release and repatriation of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan, can benefit the overall peace process and pave the way for confidence-building between the parties."

It is difficult to say whether the arrested separatist leaders are also meant by "Armenian prisoners," along with terrorists and saboteurs. If Mr. Borrel also meant them, then the appeal of 123 deputies of the EP is addressed to him.