Armenian Prisoners Could Be Excluded from 'Peace Agreement': BBC

BBC’s Caucasus correspondent Reyhan Demitri has published an extensive article regarding the possible 'peace agreement' between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the fate of Ruben Vardanyan, who is held in Baku, along with Armenian prisoners. He noted that Armenian prisoners might be excluded from the peace agreement.

“Ruben Vardanyan is one of the wealthiest individuals in Armenia, but his millions are of no help now, as he faces a life sentence in neighboring Azerbaijan. These two neighboring countries have agreed on the text of a ceasefire agreement to end decades of conflict over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh; however, Vardanyan and 15 other former members of the ethnic Armenian leadership in the region are not included in this agreement. They are being tried in a military court in Baku, accused of war crimes.

Everything changed for Vardanyan in September 2022 when he decided to move to Nagorno-Karabakh, a region historically inhabited by ethnic Armenians but was part of Soviet Azerbaijan. Vardanyan renounced his Russian citizenship and became the de facto Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, which Armenians refer to as Artsakh. He used his name, connections, and knowledge of English to raise awareness about the difficult situation of the Armenians in the region.

“The international attention to Nagorno-Karabakh evidently provoked Azerbaijan,” David Vardanyan, Ruben's son, told the BBC. There have been speculations that Vardanyan moved there to avoid international sanctions against Russian billionaires with ties to the Kremlin. The Baku government considered his assumption of that office illegal. His son argues that he was motivated by a desire to help the local Armenians: “During our last meeting, we had an argument. I was completely against his decision, which put him and our whole family at risk. He said he couldn't live knowing he hadn’t done anything for the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

His longtime friend Arman Jilavyan stated that even the slightest opportunity to help ethnic Armenians stay in their ancestral land was enough for him. “Some might say this was irrational, others say it was a calculated political move. I don’t think either of those is correct,” he said.

Ruben Vardanyan has already declared hunger strikes twice to protest against an improper judicial process amid accusations of torture. The other 15 members of the former leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh are also being tried in Baku's military court for war crimes committed from the late 1980s to the present. Azerbaijan claims that the trial complies with international legal standards and is competent to adjudicate those suspected of committing war crimes. However, last month the Baku government ordered the closure of local offices of the International Red Cross, the only international organization that had access to Armenian detainees.

Details of the peace agreement have yet to be disclosed, but officials indicate that the draft text does not address the issue of prisoners or the right of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh to return to their homes. The omission of prisoners has drawn criticism against the government of Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, both domestically and abroad. However, Arsen Torosyan, a representative of the ‘Civil Contract’ party, believes the issue should be resolved separately. “This is a peace agreement between conflicting countries. I personally think that only the conclusion or signing of this peace agreement can create the basis for resolving the issue of political prisoners,” he commented.

Vardanyan has warned from prison that this is a mistake. “This is not just my trial and that of the other 15 people, but the trial of all Armenians,” he stated in a message addressed to his supporters.