Billionaire and former Nagorno-Karabakh state minister Ruben Vardanyan, sentenced in Baku to 20 years in prison, rejected the legal force of the ruling and dropped his appeal. His family explained that this decision stemmed from the fact that, in their view, the trial was a "staged performance" rather than a proper trial: the hearings were held behind closed doors, without access to independent observers, and the prosecution's motions were ignored. The full text of the verdict was also not released.
Armenia denies rumors about intensifying relations with the Kremlin
Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan denied reports about intensifying ties with the Russian Federation. And, according to him, Armenian government officials have never had problems with visits to Moscow.
“There is nothing new. We have assessed the activities of the CSTO. We can say that this is one of the most painful issues for the Russian side. Relations within the CIS remain the same. We continue to work there. The reasons and justifications are known,” Simonyan added.
Earlier, the Armenian newspaper Past reported that Armenian government agencies have been instructed to intensify ties with Russia, participate in meetings and business trips, initiate meetings, and generally normalize relations.
In 2024, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the freezing of the country's participation in the CSTO. In addition, Yerevan expressed a desire to get closer to the European Union, up to the possibility of becoming a candidate for joining the organization.
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