Ruben Vardanyan on His Close Ties with Putin and His Business

Ruben Vardanyan, the State Minister of the Republic of Artsakh, addressed his close ties with President Putin and his business dealings in an interview with BBC's Hard Talk. Referring to his decision to renounce Russian citizenship despite having made a billion dollars in Russia, Vardanyan stated, "First of all, I started my business in 1991 with $35,000 from American investors, building the best investment bank in the region and bringing numerous investors and major companies to Russia. I have conducted business in England and the USA. I am a board member of various companies in 30 countries and have implemented charitable and social programs in many places. Therefore, I believe your conclusion regarding my closeness to Vladimir Putin is incorrect, as I have worked with many people from both the public and private sectors in various countries."

The BBC correspondent also asked, "Both the OCCRP and Navalny's anti-corruption foundation have accused you of allegedly engaging in questionable business practices in the past. While you have never been formally charged with anything, there are claims that you have been part of an oligarchic system controlled by Vladimir Putin, which partly explains your vast wealth." In response, Vardanyan noted, "You see, this publication was made four years ago, and I have continued to serve in numerous international organizations for the past four years, which confirms that those who know the truth, people who know me personally, understand what all these claims without any evidence mean. No legal case has ever taken place in any country. There are ongoing accusations against King Charles, George Clooney, and other colleagues and friends of mine who have worked with me on various projects, such as Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and many others whom I have had the honor of knowing and working with. That is why, with all due respect to journalists, I must say that these claims are simply published without any evidence, and secondly, the financial institution I was leading at the time had a trillion-dollar turnover with its hundreds of thousands of clients, and accusing Ruben Vardanyan of doing something was akin to accusing J.P. Morgan or Citibank. I believe this is truly manipulation, and you are also repeating this information."

Regarding Baku's claims that Ruben Vardanyan is a Kremlin man in Nagorno-Karabakh and that the president is preparing him to take full responsibility in Nagorno-Karabakh, the State Minister of Artsakh responded, "You know, I thought our discussion would be about human rights, the situation at hand, and this disaster, and if you engage in these speculations, particularly those conducted by the Azerbaijani side, we can talk endlessly. I would prefer to talk about how 120,000 people are surviving during this terrible time under the pressure of the political side or 'eco-activists.' By the way, I suggest checking how many environmental protests have occurred in Azerbaijan over the last 30 years, and how many times Aliyev's authoritarian regime has allowed not only Armenians but also Azerbaijanis to voice any dissent against him. We are talking about something that truly astonishes me; you are not touching upon what is happening here now and what Azerbaijan's behavior is like," emphasized Vardanyan.