Top Nagorno-Karabakh official sacked as blockade approaches fourth month

FILE PHOTO-Azeri President Ilham Aliyev attends a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) leaders in Saint Petersburg, Russia, December 26, 2022. Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Pool via REUTERS

TBILISI (Reuters) - The head of Nagorno-Karabakh's separatist government, Ruben Vardanyan, was removed from office on Thursday, Armenian state news agency Armenpress reported, almost three months into an Azerbaijani blockade of the enclave.

It gave no reason for Vardanyan's dismissal, but the billionaire banker, appointed only in November, had clashed with Armenia's prime minister over the role of Russian peacekeepers in the region. Vardanyan had also been criticised by Azerbaijan.