The campaign’s goal is straightforward: it aims for his release and “heroization”. For example, CNN recently dedicated a program to Azerbaijan. The channel’s renowned anchor, Christiane Amanpour, invited David Vardanyan, Ruben Vardanyan’s son, to the show. David, in his typical manner, critically commented on the conditions of his father’s detention and other issues. Well-known PR companies globally have been drawn into the hysterical process to secure the criminal Vardanyan’s release.
It is known that among them is Edelman – an American consulting firm specializing in public relations and marketing. This company is actively working on creating an image of Ruben Vardanyan as a “peacemaker,” a “dove of peace.” It is reminiscent of how Vardanyan organized a similar campaign when he was in Karabakh: Baku was accused of “starving” the separatists, involving a blockade — many global media outlets were engaged in the process. In the end, when the separatist regime fell, the lies surfaced: it turned out that the warehouses were full of food, and the junta starved people only to dramatize the situation.
We indeed live in a world of paradoxes. Note: a man who supported separatism in Azerbaijan, illegally arrived in Karabakh, participated in purchasing weapons and ammunition for the separatists, and repeatedly made threatening statements towards Azerbaijan, is now seriously considered for a “Nobel Peace Prize.”
The sequence is as follows: first, he becomes a candidate for the Nobel Prize, and right after that, he supposedly starts a hunger strike, after which his family members begin appearing on various media platforms.
Vardanyan supported separatism not only in Azerbaijan. Just yesterday, it became known that 18 deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine protested against nominating Ruben Vardanyan for the Nobel Peace Prize. As the Ukrainian lawmakers remind in their statement under the eloquent title, “Ukraine Against Nominating Criminal Ruben Vardanyan as a Nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize!”, on April 23, 2023, the SBU included Ruben Vardanyan in the “Peacemaker” database. The deputies’ statement indicates that Ruben Vardanyan “finances and supports Russia’s war against Ukraine.” Also, Ukrainian deputies point out that “in 2022, 46 members of the US Congress called for personal sanctions against Ruben Vardanyan,” and in 2019, 22 members of the European Parliament initiated sanctions against Vardanyan as one of the Kremlin’s allies.
Perhaps the whole absurdity lies elsewhere: an open Kremlin agent is supported by Western circles! Vardanyan’s connections with USAID head Samantha Power are well known. Azerbaijan is attacked on all fronts. Even US presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. is involved in the PR campaign against Baku. Look at his statement: “After the ethnic cleansing in Artsakh, Azerbaijan still holds the civilian political leadership of Artsakh: its former presidents, ministers, and members of parliament, as well as dozens of others as hostages, to force Armenia to further territorial concessions.”
It’s amusing to read all this absurdity. It’s equivalent to openly supporting the heads of separatists in Donbas and calling for Ukraine to stop fighting for its integrity. Or, for example, nominating Pasechnik and Pushilin for the Nobel Prize.
Meanwhile, our editorial office sent an inquiry to EDELMAN. We asked: how did it happen that an American company supports a Russian oligarch who directly supports separatism, particularly in Ukraine?
