With Karabakh’s fate in the balance, Ruben Vardanyan takes office while suggesting a new framework for coexistence: living “next to” Azerbaijanis, but not together.
While few support concessions on Karabakh, efforts to mobilize against the government on the issue have so far been dominated by the discredited political opposition.
Tens of thousands gathered the day before the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia were meeting to work on a peace agreement that many Armenians oppose.
The move comes as the fate of the de facto state appears ever more precarious, and it is not clear what Ruben Vardanyan’s wealth, authority, or Moscow connections might mean.
Immediately following the heavy fighting, pro-government media promoted an irredentist Azerbaijani project on Armenian territory. Then, just as quickly, they disavowed it.
Several activists and politicians have been branded “traitors” on government-linked social media after they expressed their opposition to Azerbaijan’s recent attacks against Armenia.
Nancy Pelosi is the highest-ranking American official ever to visit Armenia, and it came at a critical time during the country’s conflict with Azerbaijan.
Days before Azerbaijan launched an assault against Armenia, Armenians began using a new, Azerbaijan-constructed road to travel between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.
Tension between the two sides has been exacerbated by continuing disagreement of the nature of a road that would connect the two parts of Azerbaijan through Armenian territory.
Ruben Vardanyan has said his move is a patriotic gesture and he has dropped hints about entering politics. But others wonder if international sanctions against Russia may be motivating him, too.