BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 13. Rubik Vardanyan, who became one of the leaders of the separatists overnight, a former Russian oligarch who fled Moscow to save his billions from Western sanctions, continues to do everything possible to prevent dialogue and reconciliation between the peoples, under the guise of "saving" the Armenian population of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, Parvin Mirzazade, Ambassador-at-Large of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, said in his latest article, Trend reports Dec.13.
“Vardanyan, who considers himself the master of the territory where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, not only provokes new conflicts with his "loud", irresponsible statements, but also threatens the entire peace process, putting at risk the civilians of both the Karabakh region and Armenia. It was with the emergence of Vardanyan in the Karabakh region that the situation began to escalate, as he did everything, he could to provoke a new armed confrontation with the Azerbaijani side, presenting himself as the only 'saviour' of the Armenian population,” reads the article.
Mirzazade notes that the Armenian side, with the Russian peacekeepers remaining silent, carried out provocative actions against representatives of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Ecology, who tried to monitor the illegally exploited gold and molybdenum deposits.
“These events revealed that Vardanyan, who appeared there himself and tried to enter negotiations with representatives of the Azerbaijani authorities, but received a categorical rejection of any conversation with him, rushed home empty-handed. The Azerbaijani side has long ago stated that it will not hold any talks with Rubik and others like him, because these obscure individuals are not representatives of the Armenian population of Karabakh, but criminals illegally present in the territory of Azerbaijan, who have grossly violated the laws of the country and are subject to criminal prosecution,” says the ambassador-at-large.
Mirzazade notes that Rubik also undermines the peace efforts of international mediators to achieve peace and disavows statements by Armenian authorities that they recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and only want some kind of negotiation process on "security guarantees" for the Armenian population of the Karabakh region.
“Azerbaijan does not intend to tolerate such a situation any longer. In other words, if provocations by Vardanyan and his company are continued, no one can help them to escape from the sword of the Azerbaijani justice. So, get this straight, gentlemen provocateurs!” the article reads.