Jared Genser, international counsel to former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, has again criticized the Armenian government, and PM Nikol Pashinyan specifically, for not taking the basic steps to secure the release of Vardanyan and other Armenians detained in Baku.

(2 of 2) For example, when I represented two American hostages in Iran @sianamazi & his Dad, the U.S. had a @StateSPEHA Envoy on Hostage Affairs working on the case, the White House & State Department met regularly with the family of my clients, including with the Secretary of…

— Jared Genser (@JaredGenser) March 5, 2025

On March 4, Genser, in a Twitter post, welcomed a recent statement issued by Armenia’s Foreign Ministry accusing Azerbaijan of unlawfully detaining and persecuting Vardanyan and other Armenian POWs and conducting “show trials” against them.

The lawyer, however, urged Pashinyan to publicly ramp up efforts to secure his client’s release. Genser provided a laundry list of actions the Armenian government should immediately take.

Pashinyan, on March 5, reacted to Genser’s critique and said his government will make only “proportionate” and “reasonable” efforts to try to secure the release of the Armenians jailed in Azerbaijan.

Pashinyan, responding to questions from opposition members of the Armenian parliament again argued that Yerevan would harm the Armenian detainees if it acted more forcefully.

Genser, today, cites the example of the steps being taken by U.S. President Trump to return American hostages in Belarus and Venezuela.

“So, I ask Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan- do you agree doing these things are reasonable and proportionate or are you really saying that the kinds of efforts President Donald Trump has been taking to recover American hostages like MarcFogel & Amcits from #Belarus and #Venezuela have been unreasonable and disproportionate,? Genser writes.

“This was all reasonable and proportionate for the United States. Yet to my surprise, as far as I can tell, Armenia has done none of these kinds of very basic things for the Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan,” Genser writes.