Speaking during the Munich Security Conference at the weekend, Aliyev said he will agree to such talks only if Ruben Vardanyan, the Karabakh premier, resigns and leaves “our territory.” Vardanyan is a “criminal oligarch” who was “smuggled” to Karabakh from Russia, he told a panel discussion with the prime ministers of Armenia and Georgia.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian did not react to Aliyev’s condition during the discussion.
A spokeswoman for Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh president, said Vardanyan’s current role is “Artsakh’s internal affair” and “can in no way be a topic of discussion for the government of Azerbaijan.”
Lusine Avanesian told the Artsakhpress news agency that Aliyev himself is suspected “for good reason” of corruption and war crimes. Avanesian said his comments about Vardanyan are an attempt to legitimize Azerbaijan’s blockade of the sole road connecting Karabakh to Armenia.
Vardanyan, 54, is a prominent Armenian billionaire who made his fortune in Russia in the 1990s and 2000s. He was appointed as Karabakh’s state minister in November two months after renouncing his Russian citizenship.
Baku condemned Vardanyan’s appointment, with Aliyev claiming that the former investment banker was sent to Karabakh by Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted in December that Moscow “has nothing to do” with Vardanyan.
In recent weeks, there have been signs of a rift between Harutiunian and Vardanyan related to the blockade. A Karabakh opposition activist, Tigran Petrosian, claimed on Monday that Harutiunian has decided to sack Vardanyan. Neither leader commented on the claim.
Aliyev and Pashinian attended the panel discussion in Munich right after their trilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Azerbaijani leader said they agreed that Baku will continue to negotiate with Yerevan on a bilateral peace treaty while starting “contacts with Karabakh’s Armenian population.”
“Also, it has been agreed with our international partners that there will be negotiations on the rights and security of Karabakh’s Armenian minority,” said Aliyev. He did not elaborate.
Yerevan has repeatedly called for an “international mechanism” for such negotiations. Baku has opposed that until now.