Peskov on the Arrest of Ruben Vardanyan

The press secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, stated that he does not have any information regarding the arrest of former Prime Minister of the Republic of Artsakh, Ruben Vardanyan, at the border with Azerbaijan while attempting to travel to Armenia.

When a journalist inquired, "Does the Kremlin know that Vardanyan has been arrested at the border with Azerbaijan?" Peskov replied, "No, to be honest, I do not have such information; I cannot say anything on this matter. In any case, he is a citizen of the Russian Federation, he holds Russian citizenship, so we should receive information one way or another if there has been an arrest. This is standard practice. Of course, we will defend his rights."

In response to a journalist's observation that there was previous information suggesting he had renounced his Russian citizenship, Peskov stated, "I am not confident about this issue, so I wouldn’t dare to comment accurately... If he has renounced his Russian citizenship, that is a different matter. I'm afraid to be mistaken; I do not know about his arrest, I do not know who arrested him, and whether he has been arrested at all or if he holds Russian citizenship."

Earlier reports indicated that Ruben Vardanyan was arrested and captured by Azerbaijan.