Ergün Kırlıkovalı to Taleb: Apply your skepticism to Vardanyan's financial network

Turkish-American chemist and polymer specialist Ergün Kırlıkovalı has published an open letter to American risk researcher and essayist Nassim Nicholas Taleb in response to his support for Ruben Vardanyan and his refusal to travel to Baku to deliver a lecture.

Kırlıkovalı criticized Talebchr("39")s call for Vardanyanchr("39")s unconditional release.

"I am writing regarding your recent public statement in which you declared that you refuse to lecture in Baku while Ruben Vardanyan remains imprisoned. It is deeply ironic to watch you, an author who has devoted his career to warning the world about hidden financial risks, narrative fallacies, and structural blindness, fall victim to a carefully constructed illusion yourself. An analysis of Vardanyanchr("39")s financial network, his activities, and his sudden political maneuvers suggests that his widely promoted image as a philanthropist represents what classical literature would describe as a narrative shield concealing the reality of illicit financing and geopolitical destabilization," Kırlıkovalı wrote.

In his view, Vardanyanchr("39")s arrival in Karabakh in late 2022 undermined regional stability. Kırlıkovalı recalled that in February 2026, the Baku Military Court sentenced Vardanyan to 20 years in prison on charges including financing terrorism and establishing illegal armed groups.

"By using your global platform as a weapon to defend the interests of an oligarch closely linked to shadow trade, illicit global financing, and military logistics, you are taking an unethical position," the author wrote, addressing Taleb.

He stressed that portraying Vardanyanchr("39")s activities solely as a humanitarian mission means falling victim to the very "blind spots" Taleb has repeatedly warned about in his own works.

According to Kırlıkovalı, Talebchr("39")s public position also reflects a lack of empathy for the victims of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

"True humanity requires that we stand with the victims of displacement and aggression, not with powerful financiers who profit from their suffering. I urge you to set aside personal sympathies, whether real or perceived, apply your own rigorous standards of skepticism to Vardanyanchr("39")s network, and reconsider the serious ethical costs of your actions in this regard," the letter states.

Earlier, Taleb said on social media that he had received an invitation to deliver a lecture in Azerbaijan but declined to travel while Vardanyan remains imprisoned. He described Vardanyan as a political prisoner.

Ergün Kırlıkovalı moved to the United States in 1978 and founded Integrated Polymer Industries in 1985, a company specializing in the development of polymer materials for the aerospace industry. According to Kırlıkovalı, the company developed specialized radar-absorbing coatings designed to reduce the radar signature of the B-2 and F-35 aircraft.