By The Editor / ZARTONK Media
March 16, 2025
Michael Waltz, National Security Advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, has urged Azerbaijan to release the Armenian Christian prisoners held in Baku and finalize the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
Waltz tweeted: “Conflict in the South Caucasus must end. I spoke this week with Mr. Hikmet Hajiyev, the national security advisor for President Aliyev in Azerbaijan. We are pleased Azerbaijan and Armenia have taken a big step forward and agreed to a peace treaty. I told him we should finalize this peace deal now, release the prisoners, and work together to make the region more secure and prosperous. America’s Golden Age will bring peace and prosperity to the world, and we won’t stop working until that happens.”
In response, Ruben Vardanyan’s International lawyer Jared Genser called this a significant development, highlighting President Trump’s stance on both the peace treaty and the release of Armenian Christian political prisoners.
Genser stated: “This is a really important development! President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has not only emphasized the President’s commitment to peace in the Caucasus and the need for a peace treaty to be signed but also that the Armenian Christian political prisoners in Azerbaijan, including my client Ruben Vardanyan, must also be released.”
Genser then publicly called on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to align with the Trump Administration on this issue and actively push for the release of Armenian detainees.
He urged: “Dear Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan & Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, please see this post from President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz—he emphasizes not only the need to finalize the peace treaty with Azerbaijan but also for the release of the Armenian Christian prisoners. I trust you fully agree with the Trump Administration on this key point.”
Genser has repeatedly urged the Armenian government to take stronger action in pressuring Baku and mobilizing international actors for the release of illegally detained Armenians, including Ruben Vardanyan and former Artsakh officials.