A threat for the EU: Putin’s henchman is preparing for war in the Southern Caucasus

Recently the US sanctioned seven leading members of a Russian intelligence-linked group and one entity for their role in Russia’s malign influence campaigns and destabilization operations in Moldova. There is an urgent need to add at least one person to the blacklist – Ruben Vardanyan, former “state minister” of unrecognized separatist enclave on Azerbaijani soil, which is now a base for the Russian military pretending to be “peacekeepers”.

Last week Ukrainian Secret Service (SSU) called for Vardanyan to be detained and turned over to the Ukrainian authorities or the authorities of any NATO country. His name appeared on the “Myrotvorets” (Peacemaker) database, where Ukrainians list those, who support Russian invasion and provide necessary resources to continue the war.

Vardanyan is well known for his pro-Kremlin activities. To remind,  from 2005 to 2022, Ruben Vardanyan was allegedly engaged in money laundering through offshore companies and transferring money to the most influential people from Putin's entourage (for example, Sergei Roldugin). During the same period, he held positions in the "expert councils" under the President and the Government of the Russian Federation, positions accessible only to people who are close to Putin. At the same time, Vardanyan also ran the investment bank Troika Dialog, which became part of Sberbank of the Russian Federation in 2011.

In March 2019 members of EU Parliament demanded an investigation into the activities of Vardanyan as the head of Troika Dialog.

The name of Vardanyan and his Troika Dialog surfaced again in connection with the topic of offshore companies: the Organized Crime and Corruption Investigation Center (OCCRP) convincingly proved that Troika Dialog had created an extensive network of offshore companies. These companies worked with other companies accused of laundering, cashing out or illegally withdrawing funds from Russia. We are talking about 4.6 billion dollars passed through 76 companies.

Today, though being dismissed from his “state minister” post in the separatist enclave in Karabakh, “Putin’s wallet” is still busy creating a point of instability in the Southern Caucasus, a “circuit breaker” for one of the major energy supplying alternatives to the Russian gas and oil, Azerbaijan.

Strangely enough, Ukrainians understand that better than Europeans and Americans. Ukrainian intelligence services are active in the Southern Caucasus not only because of Iran that supplies drones and missiles to Russia. They understand that any issues affecting stable energy supplies to the EU may hit them hard.

Vardanyan recently urged the separatists in Karabakh to take up arms: "We will fight to the end. The last limit has been crossed: you either stand up for “Artsakh” or against the entire Armenian people". This call was made against the backdrop of EU and US efforts to reach a peace settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"Peacekeepers (the Russian military in the enclave - ed.) are the force that supports “Artsakh” ... We have a lot of work to do so that they stay here longer and in greater numbers," he said.

In early May, at a pro-Russian rally, he bluntly promoted the idea of the need for the Russian troops to be present as a tool to maintain Putin's influence in the South Caucasus.

According to the Ukrainian intelligence, the Russian troops supplied the separatists in Karabakh with hundreds of DJI Mavic 3 Chinese reconnaissance and strike drones. They are equipped with bombing systems, which allow them to drop explosive devices like mortar ammunition. Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation Alexei Kim gave the order to supply those weapons to the separatists.

They might be used for provocations, aiming, for example, to sabotage peace talks between Baku and Yerevan, or to start a new war in the region, hampering the supply of gas to the West.

It is time to take care of this threat; it is time not only to sanction Vardanyan, but to put him on wanted list of Interpol and other Western security services.

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