Last week, the Washington Post, the prestigious American newspaper, published an influential column by the famous American Armenian journalist and bestselling author David Ignatius, in which he called on US President Trump to fulfill his promise to protect persecuted Christians, starting with Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) former state minister Ruben Vardanyan. Armenian News-NEWS.am spoke to Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist, and economist Vahan Zanoyan, who was also referenced in Ignatius' column, on the topic.

Mr. Zanoyan, New York Times bestselling author and prominent American journalist of Armenian heritage, David Ignatius, recently published a rather influential article about the ongoing sham trials in Baku and about your friend, Ruben Vardanyan. The piece also called on President Trump to honor his campaign promise to defend persecuted Christians, and to start that by helping the release of Ruben Vardanyan. Do you think this will have any impact?

David Ignatius' columns in the Washington Post are generally widely read and respected within the Washington political circles. His column about Ruben sends important messages. It was essential to remind the new U.S. administration of what happened to the ethnic Armenians of Artsakh and where Ruben Vardanyan and the former leadership of Artsakh are now. This is not just an Armenian issue. A dictatorship violates all kinds of international rights and values, holds people hostage illegally, and the world is silent. This is about universal human rights — the fundamental right to freedom. Impunity opens the door to new crimes.

Ignatius once again drew attention to these facts, highlighting the Christian factor, because that has special significance in the domestic political stage of the United States and because Trump himself had spoken about defending Christians. It is also worth noting here that Ignatius is a good example of how the resources of Armenians outside the “real Armenia” can support causes important to Armenia and Armenians at large.

In addition to his personal credentials as a respected journalist and novelist, we should also note that his father, a descendant of a Genocide survivor, was the United States Secretary of the Navy. You can learn more about his father’s and his Armenian roots here. And it was commendable that Ignatius, with his and his family’s credibility, stood by and spoke for Ruben. All those who know Ruben and for whom universal human values are important should do the same.

Are you personally following the farce, which they call a trial, currently ongoing in Baku?

I follow as much as possible, considering the total lack of transparency. A series of absurd and unfounded accusations have been made against Ruben, which have nothing to do with him, his worldview, or his life philosophy.

Ruben represents the image of a respectable and bold Armenian. His initiatives and achievements bring pride to the Armenian people. For example, as an Armenian, I feel proud of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. It is an initiative that allows us to transcend the victim mentality and act resilient enough to lend a helping hand to others. This is a philosophy becoming of dignified nations—the ability to also give back to the world. I also feel proud every time the cable car built by Ruben in Tatev earns Armenia an award.

Ruben represents the personality and character through which the Armenian nation can be recognized and respected globally. This is precisely why he has been singled out from the other Artsakh leaders detained in the sham court in Baku. I am convinced that Azerbaijan's target is not just the person of Ruben Vardanyan, but what he represents on the world stage as an exemplary Armenian. It is precisely that image that they want to condemn and humiliate. It is that image which is being "tried" in Baku today.

You told Ignatius that 10 days before the invasion of Azerbaijan, you called Vardanyan and urged him to leave. He refused. Could you tell us more about that?

I had countless meetings with Ruben before he left for Artsakh, and a few later while he was in Artsakh. I know his motivations for taking that step well. I have had the opportunity to affirm elsewhere in public that moving to Artsakh was his personal and well-considered decision. It was a decision he took being fully cognizant of the risks involved. He was convinced that in that difficult situation, he had to be by the side of the Artsakh Armenians, and to try to do everything possible — and sometimes even the impossible — to allow the people of Artsakh to continue living peacefully in their homeland. His goal was for wars not to be the means of resolving conflict in the region, and ensuring that people could live peacefully on the land where they had lived for millennia. One of his greatest concerns was the possible depopulation of Artsakh, long before that became a reality.

After he moved to Artsakh, I talked to him — not just once, but very often, many times. He always said that he could not abandon the people and leave them alone in this difficult situation. Under the conditions of the blockade, with the lack of food, he somehow managed to open canteens, where hundreds of people — children and the elderly — were able to receive meals every day. He initiated numerous projects to improve the food security, energy self-sufficiency, and healthcare and education systems of Artsakh. He was able to remain a human being in spite of those brutal conditions and that harsh reality; this is an exceptional quality. Also, he somehow managed to send a message from his prison cell, stating that he felt neither malice nor hatred, although I believe that there was defiance and rebellion in him against injustice. That is testimony to a great character.