“First, Ruben Vardanyan is not under sanctions. Ruben Vardanyan is still working. He still goes around the world to America, France, everywhere, and he has no problems. Secondly, if Ruben Vardanyan wanted to escape the sanctions, he would go to another country, not to Artsakh, without upsetting Artsakh. Thirdly, you asked me a question about the restrictions on me. I want to say that we do everything for the motherland.
If you have a passport of two states, you cannot be an official. If I had the opportunity to have only an Artsakh passport, I would. I have an Artsakh passport earlier than Armenia, since 2016. I did it, so it’s easy for me to talk. My son served here as a volunteer at that time. I didn’t come and start doing something now, but everything happened a long time ago. Out of seven hundred weddings organized by Levon Hayrapetyan, I sponsored 232 families. Four to five hundred children were born and I took care of them. I can calmly look you all in the eyes, and you will be globalists, pro-Russian. If the globalist has done something like me, good for them,” said Ruben Vardanyan, a well-known businessman and public figure, at a press conference held in Stepanakert today, responding to all kinds of comments and labels circulating around his name in recent days.
Ruben Vardanyan announced that he was renouncing Russian citizenship and settling in Artsakh, which was followed by various comments in the Internet domain.
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“Fourth, it’s normal that you don’t believe me. The job of journalists is to question everything, but an ordinary citizen of Artsakh should believe that Ruben Vardanyan is serious. I didn’t leave room for disbelief, I didn’t annoy you, I didn’t take a position, I didn’t get an offer, I didn’t change my plans. I did it and announced it. I could not announce it, it is not something to announce, but I announced it so that you know that I have crossed the Rubicon. I have crossed the line and I will not go back. I did it realizing that I have to show that I have crossed the line. Now whether it will work or not is another question, everything is possible, but I will not go back. I’m not going to say: I’m sorry, people, I have important business in Moscow, I have to meet with Putin, I have to go. I have neither a Russian nor an English passport. This is not for you, this is for the common citizen to feel that they are not alone, that if a person of this level comes and says that he is with them, then they are not alone. These days, so many people have come up to me just smiling, just feeling that they are not alone. You can’t imagine that positivity.”
Speaking about his political ambitions through the “Land of Living” party, the speaker said, “We are now in the 21st century, why are we talking about parties and trade unions, which were very important in the 20th century? The party is an idea of how to develop the country and participate in politics. Now there are 92 or 93 parties in Armenia. Let someone tell me what the difference is between their ideas, except that everyone wants to be prosperous, to develop. In the end, everyone comes to the same thing, that we should be rich, happy, and secure. The difference between several parties is whether they are for or against Russia, and that’s it. Even in the matter of Artsakh, there are not so many differences… We fall back into the topic of getting a position, being the leader of the party, assuming a position are very secondary things.”
Ruben Vardanyan did not give a clear answer to Aravot.am’s question about his political ambitions. Later, in relation to the same issue, he said that for the sake of the Armenian states, he did not rule out the possibility of holding a public position in Armenia. “I am the soldier who came to defend my homeland,” he said, adding that we are now facing a new Sardarapat, and during Sardarapat they did not ask if you were coming to protect our homeland or not.
“Now, it seems to me that the most important thing in this situation is who is ready to defend the homeland. Secondly, if you want to know who Ruben Vardanyan is, you don’t need to read different things, you need to look at what Ruben Vardanyan has done in the last twenty years: globalist, pro-Russian, Russophobic, because, after all, we will all go, and human affairs will remain. I advise you: the 700 projects that are accepted, you can say: you know, Mr. Vardanyan, these projects are not good, or you have helped the globalist movement with these projects. I am a patriotic Armenian who dreamed and did everything to make Armenia a strong, happy and independent country. And to give me that name: “Tatar Rubo,” “Russophobe,” those are all games.”
Ruben Vardanyan also spoke about his ideas and opportunities for the development of Artsakh.
Nelly GRIGORYAN
