Relatives of convicted former Karabakh state minister, former Russian citizen, and billionaire Ruben Vardanyan reported that he was prevented from completing his appeal to Azerbaijan's Human Rights Commissioner Sabina Aliyeva. During a telephone conversation with his family on March 13, the call was forcibly terminated, preventing him from delivering his public message.
According to former Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Tofig Zulfugarov, Russia, without the ability to directly exert force, is exerting indirect pressure on Azerbaijan.
He highlighted several key areas of this strategy: pressure on the Azerbaijani diaspora and business in Russia, attempts at economic sabotage, cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns. Zulfugarov emphasized that the goal of these actions is to undermine the unity of Azerbaijani society and deprive it of the feeling of victory and consolidation after the restoration of sovereignty.
“The main consolidating factor for us is the feeling of a multinational victorious people who have restored the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their country. It is this factor that will be subject to targeted attacks,” the diplomat noted.