Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan drew public criticism after reacting sharply to a journalist’s question about the Armenian prisoners unjustly held in Azerbaijan during a campaign event in Gyumri on May 25.
Journalists were asking about the upcoming visit of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Yerevan and whether the issue of the Armenian hostages in Baku would be included in talks with Armenian officials. When one journalist attempted to clarify whether the issue would be on the agenda, Mirzoyan responded irritably, “Ah, you’re annoying,” and when the journalist tried to ask again, he replied, “Sss… I am not giving interviews.”
The exchange circulated widely online, prompting criticism from public figures and opposition politicians. Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a member of the “Armenia” parliamentary faction and a candidate on the Armenia Alliance electoral list, condemned Mirzoyan’s reaction on Facebook, writing: “This is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, the person who is supposed to defend the interests of Armenia and the Armenian people in international forums and around the world. And see how he speaks about prisoners.”
Mirzoyan’s outburst came just one day after former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, marking his 58th birthday in unjust captivity, issued an address to the Armenian people from his prison cell in Baku. In that statement, Vardanyan accused the Armenian government of failing to take any organized action on behalf of the prisoners and charged that “the defeated commander-in-chief,” a reference to Pashinyan, had done nothing to make the captives feel that a state stands behind them. The foreign minister’s reaction the following day, dismissing a question on the very same subject as annoying, struck many as an unintended confirmation of exactly the indifference Vardanyan had described.
The incident also fueled broader public discussion, with journalists and commentators noting that Armenian officials are regularly asked whether the fate of the prisoners held in Azerbaijan is raised during high-level meetings and diplomatic visits. Officials, including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Mirzoyan, have generally avoided providing detailed public information, arguing that negotiations should not be conducted in public, while maintaining that the issue is raised in all relevant diplomatic contacts with Baku.
Those assurances are difficult to square with the record of recent weeks. Armenia did not publicly raise the issue of the Armenian prisoners during the European Political Community summit held in Yerevan on May 4, nor during the EU-Armenia summit held the following day. During the EPC summit, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who participated via video link, referred to the former Artsakh officials held in Baku as “war criminals,” and Pashinyan did not respond to the remarks during the session. Ahead of the summit, Pashinyan had said Armenia did not plan to raise the issue of the prisoners with EU partners, arguing that such discussions would not be effective and that the matter should instead be addressed through direct contacts with Baku.
According to official figures, Azerbaijan currently holds 19 Armenian prisoners. They were seized in September 2023, when, following a nine-month blockade and a military assault on occupied Artsakh, Azerbaijan detained members of the region’s former military and political leadership in the days surrounding the ethnic cleansing that forced the entire Armenian population from their homeland. The former leadership has since been sentenced in Baku on charges including “terrorism,” “war crimes,” and “genocide,” accusations widely condemned by international rights organizations as politically motivated, in trials that began in January 2025 and concluded on February 5.
Former Artsakh presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan were sentenced to 20 years in prison, as was former state minister Ruben Vardanyan, whose case was handled separately and concluded with his sentencing on February 17. Former Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan, former parliament speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, former Defense Army commander Levon Mnatsakanyan, and former deputy commander Davit Manukyan were sentenced to life imprisonment, while other officials and civilians received prison terms ranging from 15 to 19 years, among them Madat Babayan, Melkiset Pashayan, Garik Martirosyan, Davit Alahverdian, Levon Balayan, Erik Ghazaryan, Gurgen Stepanyan, and Vasil Beglaryan. Amnesty International described the verdicts as a travesty and a mockery of justice.
On April 28, reports confirmed that Vardanyan and other Armenian prisoners had been transferred to the Umbaki prison complex in the Qaradag district of Baku.
