Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hinted that separatist Ruben Vardanyan, who is imprisoned in Baku, was sent to Karabakh by Russia.His statement sparked serious discussions in Armenia. Pashinyan was not entirely wrong, as it appeared there were certain plans regarding Vardanyan, who illegally came to Karabakh after renouncing his Russian citizenship. In September of last year, the Azerbaijani army eliminated Armenian separatism through anti-terror operations, and the leaders of the terrorist groups, including Vardanyan, were arrested.

Axar.az reports that there are claims in Armenia that Nikol Pashinyan was aware of Vardanyan's arrival in Karabakh and had given a blessing for his appointment as the so-called "state minister."

Armenian politician and former deputy Naira Zöhrabyan revealed what the imprisoned separatist Araik Arutyunyan told her about this.

“Although Araik Arutyunyan is imprisoned in Baku, I will disclose my personal conversation with him. After the war (44-day war), I was offered to be the representative of the so-called ‘Artsakh’ in Russia. I declined. When I was in Khankendi, Araik Arutyunyan told me in our private conversation that Ruben Vardanyan's term was agreed upon with Pashinyan.

Vardanyan also stated in his response from Baku that Pashinyan met with him after his appointment. The government once stated that if they (the separatists) returned to Armenia, they would carry out a coup, and it was claimed that there were audio recordings about this. From this perspective, their imprisonment in Baku is advantageous for Pashinyan,” Zöhrabyan claimed.