On September 27, the State Border Service of Azerbaijan reported that Ruben Vardanyan, who served as the de facto minister of state of separatist Nagorno-Karabakh, was detained at the Lachin state border exit. The information added that Vardanyan, born in 1968, was taken to Baku accompanied by employees of the State Border Service.

In addition, the Armenian government applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for the protection of the Russian billionaire Ruben Vardanyan.

In particular, Ruben Vardanyan was appointed de facto Minister of State of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh in November 2022 and removed from his post in February 2023. When Vardanyan was removed from his post, Armenian media wrote that Azerbaijan had proposed his removal as one of the conditions of the peace agreement. Russian businessman Vardanyan is the founder of the "Troika Dialog" company and the president of the "Skolkovo" management school. He renounced his Russian citizenship and moved to Karabakh in September 2022, which explains the fact that Moscow's reaction to his arrest was restrained. 

Read our exclusive interview with Ruben Vardanyan from August 2023.