“All possible diplomatic efforts are being made in that direction,” Pashinian told journalists in Yerevan.
When asked to shed light on those efforts, he said, “We raise this issue in all negotiations, and we also raise these issues in negotiations with Azerbaijan, and efforts are being made in that direction that are not visible.”
“I am 100 percent sure that saying that [publicly] would only damage our efforts and damage those people,” he added.
Pashinian earlier gave the same explanation for the Armenian government’s failure to explicitly condemn the trials of the former Karabakh leaders that began in Baku on January 17. His detractors dismissed it, saying that he is simply afraid of angering Baku.
It was not until February 24 that the government denounced the “mock trials” through Foreign Ministry Ararat Mirzoyan. The Armenian Foreign Ministry stepped up Mirzoyan’s carefully worded criticism four days later as it faced protests by activists accusing Yerevan of doing little to get Baku to free the Armenian captives.
“We did not want to provoke torture, the use of prohibited means, etc. with our statements,” said Pashinian. “Why are we making a statement now? Because we see that we cannot provoke anymore because [torture] has already happened?”
He clearly referred to images of Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian businessman and philanthropist, appearing before a military court in Baku on February 24 one week after the start of his latest hunger strike. Vardanyan, who briefly served as Karabakh premier from November 2022 to February 2023, looked frail and had apparent bruises on his face. His appearance added to public fury with the Armenian government’s cautious stance.
On Monday, several dozen activists picketed the Yerevan office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to urge the Geneva-based organization to pay more attention to the plight of at least 23 Armenians remaining in Azerbaijani captivity. Organizers of the protest were unconvinced by Pashinian’s latest assurances.
“I am appalled by not only Azerbaijan’s actions but also the terrible, inhuman policy pursued by the current Armenian authorities,” said Larisa Alaverdian, a veteran human rights campaigner.
Artak Beglarian, Karabakh’s former human rights ombudsman, said the authorities in Yerevan are primarily to blame for the fact that Vardanyan and the 22 other Armenians are still held in Azerbaijan.
Baku allows ICRC representatives to periodically visit and talk to the prisoners. The ICRC spokeswoman in Yerevan, Zara Amatuni, said that a Red Cross doctor examined Vardanyan in jail after the start of his hunger strike. She declined to specify the date of the visit or the findings of the medical examination, citing a long-standing policy of the ICRC.
Vardanyan’s American lawyer, Jaren Genser, expressed on February 26 serious concern at his client’s “deteriorating health,” urging Baku to “postpone the trial through the remainder of his hunger strike.” Genser also called on world leaders and “especially” Pashinian to condemn the “show trial.”
An Armenian politician, Mane Tandilian, and two other supporters of Vardanyan went on hunger strike in Yerevan’s Liberty Square on Saturday to implore the tycoon to stop refusing food.
“This is a request to him to return to Armenia, to preserve his health, to persevere because he is dear to every Armenian,” Tandilian said on Monday. She was hopeful that Vardanyan’s family will be able to communicate the request to him soon.