YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Ruben Vardanyan, a prominent Armenian businessman jailed in Azerbaijan, has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and claimed that Armenia risks becoming a Turkish province.
In his latest audio message communicated to his family by phone and publicized on Monday, May 25, Vardanyan branded Pashinyan a “liar” and again compared him to Kaj Nazar (Nazar the Brave), a satirically inept character from an Armenian fairy tale.
“First, I want to remind you once again: it is the people who elect Nazar the Brave as king; he does not become king by himself,” he said, appealing to Armenians two weeks before their crucial parliamentary elections. “Second, dear ‘Nazar the Brave’ Nikol, your luck ran out three times.”
Vardanyan revealed that during his two-and-a-half-year imprisonment in Baku he read a book written by Pashinyan more than a decade ago.
“After reading your book, I became convinced that you not only have serious problems with moral and ethical standards, with education and with other things but that you are also a liar, a fantasist, and a plagiarist,” he said, predicting “great punishment” for the Armenian premier.
Vardanyan went on to warn Armenians of an “extremely serious challenge” facing their country.
