Karabakh’s senior official surrenders to Azerbaijan after arrest of region’s former leader
- 28 September, 22:08
After the detention of former head of separatist government in Nagorno-Karabakh, another senior official in the region has turned himself in to Azerbaijan.
David Babayan, former de-facto foreign minister of the breakaway region, announced his surrender on September 28.
“You all know that I am included in the black list of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani side demanded my arrival in Baku for a relevant investigation,” Babayan announced in his Facebook page. He added that he decided to leave from lNagorno-Karabakh’s capital Stepanakert [Khankendi in Azerbaijani] for Shusha, another city in Azerbaijan that is under full control of Azerbaijan.
David Babayan served as de-facto foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region from 2021 to 2023 and has been serving as an advisor to the separatist region’s head since January this year.
Babayan’s surrender follows the arrest of the region’s former leader, billionaire businessman Ruben Vardanyan by Azerbaijan’s State Border Service on September 27. Vardanyan’s arrest comes after Azerbaijan regained full control over the region after disarming local Armenian military groups in an operation that lasted less than 23 hours on September 19. Azerbaijan’s victory was followed by a meeting between Baku and Nagorno-Karabakh officials. Azerbaijan’s capture of Nagorno-Karabakh also prompted exodus of local Armenian population. According to Armenian officials, 47,000 out of the region’s 120,000 Armenians have already left Karabakh for Armenia. The exodus is driven by fear of Azerbaijan’s possible persecution despite Baku’s assurances that it will guarantee local Armenians’ rights and provide for their security. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan earlier said that there was no threat for Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.
