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Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict

Azerbaijan detains former Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan

The detainee was handed over to other government agencies so they make further decisions about his future, according to the statement

Ruben Vardanyan Alexander Ryumin/TASS

Ruben Vardanyan

© Alexander Ryumin/TASS

BAKU, September 27. /TASS/. The Azerbaijani border guard service said its officers have detained former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Ruben Vardanyan as he attempted to cross into Armenia.

"On September 27, Ruben Vardanyan, born in 1968, who was staying on the territory of the country illegally and used to hold the position of the so-called state minister of the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, was detained at the Lachin border checkpoint. He was taken to Baku under the escort of members of the rapid response forces," the agency said in a statement.

The detainee was handed over to other government agencies so they make further decisions about his future, according to the statement.

Vardanyan’s wife Veronika Zonabend earlier confirmed reports that he had been detained.

Russian businessman Vardanyan co-founded Troika Dialog, Russia’s oldest brokerage, in 1991 and also served as the first president of the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo. In September 2022, he renounced his Russian citizenship and moved to Nagorno-Karabakh. Vardanyan was appointed the unrecognized republic’s state minister in November 2022 and was removed from the post in February.

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Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict

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