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Member of European Parliament protects Russian billionare who illegally exports gold from Karabakh

Politics Materials 16 December 2022 13:19 (UTC +04:00)
Member of European Parliament protects Russian billionare who illegally exports gold from Karabakh
Trend’s political news desk
Trend’s political news desk
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec.16. Unexpectedly, "protectors" of Russian billionaire of Armenian origin Ruben Vardanyan, who illegally mines, exports and sells gold from Azerbaijan's Karabakh, emerged in the European Parliament.

For example, a member of the European Parliament, head of the European Parliament delegation for relations with the South Caucasus, Marina Kaljurand, made an unexpected statement at the European Parliament on December 15 in defense of Vardanyan and his illegal business. According to Kaljurand, she is "worried about the situation and the blocking of the Lachin road by Azerbaijan."

At the same time, the situation on the Lachin road is far from what the local Armenians are trying make it out to be. Azerbaijani environmentalists were supposed to monitor gold and copper mines in Karabakh, on which an agreement was reached with Russian peacekeepers temporarily stationed in the area. However, when the Azerbaijani delegation arrived at the site, Armenian activists prevented the monitoring to take place. After that, a peaceful protest rally of activists, NGOs and environmentalists from Azerbaijan took place near the post of Russian peacekeepers in the vicinity of Shusha, who demanded that the Russian command allows representatives of Baku to carry out the monitoring. Amid all this, the Armenian side is trying to present the situation as a "humanitarian crisis". Vardanyan, who calls himself the "Minister of State of Karabakh" speaks of a "crisis faced by thousands of people."

Vardanyan, reportedly, revealing that the billonaire did not break his ties with Russia. He renounced Russian citizenship but retained his business and assets in Russia. In 2022, he fled from Western sanctions in Karabakh and began to engage in illegal mining and export of gold from there. And where does the money from the sale of this gold go? This issue would've been great for the European Parliament deputies to handle. However, the matter seems to of no interest to someone like Marina Kaljurand - for her, it's much more important to protect Vardanyan. As for why - this is another food for thought for investigators in Europe.

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