Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan says he has no plans to resign

YEREVAN, January 16. /ARKA/. Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) State Minister (head of government) Ruben Vardanyan said he was not going to resign.

"I'm not going to resign, especially during this crisis. The possible resignation of the President or the dissolution of the Parliament are also unacceptable. We must convene all our efforts to overcome this horrible situation. We must preserve Artsakh and we have that chance today!," he wrote in a Facebook post.

Speculation that Vardanyan was going to resign started spreading rapidly in the Armenian segment of the telegram after a report by infoport.am news outlet. An infoport.am story even claimed that Vardanyan would be replaced by the current head of the Artsakh Ministry of Internal Affairs Karen Sargsyan.

On Saturday Artsakh's National Assembly Speaker Artur Tovmasyan did not rule out holding early parliamentary and presidential elections to overcome the crisis. He did not rule out his participation in the elections.

David Babayan, former Artsakh Minister of Foreign Affairs and the leader of the Artsakh Conservative Party, who was relieved of his duties a few days ago, also announced his intention to run for presidency.

Ruben Vardanyan 54, whose total assets, according to Forbes magazine, are estimated at $1.3 billion, announced in September, 2022 that he decided to renounce his Russian citizenship and move to Karabakh, ‘whose people who have survived two wars and lost their relatives and loved ones in the struggle for independence, are abandoned, forgotten and no one needs them.’

Several months later he was appointed State Minister by Nagorno-Karabakh president Arayik Harutyunyan.

In a last week interview with RTV1 Ruben Vardanyan called on Russia, Europe and the US to impose personal sanctions against the leaders of Azerbaijan over the blocking of the Lachin corridor, which connects Artsakh with Armenia.

"Both Russia, Europe and America should come out with a joint statement that the blocking of the (Lachin) corridor is an unacceptable method of pressure on people living on their own land... There are many mechanisms of pressure on the leadership of Azerbaijan –imposing personal sanctions on the families of the leaders of that country, on people who make such decisions and carry out such actions," Vardanyan said.

The only road connecting Artsakh and Armenia has been blockaded by Azerbaijan since December 12, 2022. Before the blockade about 400 tons of food was supplied to Artsakh from Armenia daily.

About a thousand people (including several dozen children, have been separated from their families.

All planned surgical operations are suspended.

After pressure from the ECHR, following the death of a seriously ill person in a Stepanakert hospital, and thanks to the mediation of the International Red Cross, some patients are being transferred by special convoys to medical centres in Armenia.

Pharmacies are running out of stocks of all medicines.  Fuel is running out, food is running out and shops are empty. Kindergartens are closed because it is not possible to provide food for children

Since 12 January, the cable for the internet connection has been sabotaged at the Azerbaijani blockade along the Lachin corridor.

Thus, 120,000 people (including 30,000 children and 20,000 elderly) are on the verge of a humanitarian crisis. -0-