Nubar Afeyan raises the issue of Armenians held in Azerbaijan at a  meeting with Armenian authorities

ArmInfo. The suspicions voiced by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan against philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan, who has been imprisoned in Baku for the second year, are baseless. Nubar Afeyan, co-founder of the  Hayastan 2041 charity foundation, stated this at the announcement of the winners of the Strong Diaspora program on October 2, when asked to assess Pashinyan's statements about Vardanyan.  

Afeyan recalled that he has known Ruben Vardanyan for 25 years and can confidently say what he is capable of and what he is not. "I would like to mention that the Azerbaijani authorities have made some concessions  and are allowing Ruben to make brief phone calls with his family members. During these conversations, he was able to somewhat express his needs and the challenges he is facing," Afeyan said.

The philanthropist added that they are working with international  organizations and lawyers to secure the release of  Vardanyan and the  other Armenians held in Baku.  At the same time, he highlighted the  troubling situation in the world. "You can see for yourself the  developments in the international arena, including the recent events  in Lebanon. We are witnessing a split in the world and cynicism among  international actors. Some argue that justice is crucial for  attaining peace, while others maintain that peace should be pursued  at all costs, and justice is not so important. But this is not a  realistic approach, since peace cannot be achieved without justice,"  Afeyan noted. At the same time, he admitted that during meetings with  high-ranking officials from both the US and Europe, politicians  acknowledged that peace is impossible without justice, but they do  not speak about it publicly.

"Let's hope that thanks to the peace treaty, we will be able to  achieve peace in the region. However, I firmly believe that peace  cannot exist without justice. I am confident that the Armenian  government is working to secure the release of our prisoners and  prisoners of war from Baku prisons," the philanthropist emphasized.   Touching again on the suspicions voiced against Vardanyan, Afeyan  reiterated his belief that they don't pertain to Ruben's personality,  since he is fundamentally different. "Ruben, knowing about the danger  that could threaten him, consciously went to Artsakh to help people  in a difficult situation. I have no doubt about Ruben. However, if,  the Armenian authorities wanted to convey certain messages to other  countries through Vardanyan, external forces in the same North, this  is another question, a political one. But this cannot directly  concern Ruben," Afeyan noted.

Regarding the pressure being exerting on Azerbaijan before the UN  Climate Summit (COP29)  to release Armenian prisoners of war and  hostages, the philanthropist stated that several meetings were held  on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, with the key topic being  this issue. According to him, significant efforts are being made in  this direction, particularly by the Armenian Diaspora. Afeyan  expressed hope that it would be wonderful if the outcome of these  efforts leads to Vardanyan's release. He also critisized the COP29  slogan announced by Azerbaijan as absurd: the event should become a  peace summit. At the same time, he added that if the international  community is unwilling to pressure Azerbaijan regarding the return of  Armenian prisoners, it remains to hope that the Armenian authorities  will remain steadfast in this process. When asked whether he  personally met with Armenian authorities to raise the issue of  prisoners of war and civilians, Afeyan gave an affirmative answer.  "Yes, I have met with them. We discussed this issue," the  philanthropist said, without going into details of these discussions.