World-renowned essayist, risk analyst and author Nassim Nicholas Taleb has said he declined an invitation to deliver a lecture in Azerbaijan, explaining that he would not visit the country while Armenian philanthropist and former Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan remains imprisoned there.

In a post on X, Taleb revealed that he had been invited to speak in Azerbaijan but refused the offer. According to him, the organizers later significantly increased the proposed honorarium in an apparent attempt to change his decision.

“I was asked to go to Azerbaijan for a lecture. I declined (they hugely upped their offer, not understanding my ethics, thinking it would make a difference),” Taleb wrote.

He added: “I will not set foot in Azerbaijan with Ruben Vardanyan jailed there.”

In a follow-up post, Taleb stressed that financial incentives would not alter his position.

“The fact that a certain government likes my work does not make me interested in reciprocating. I am not a real estate salesman,” he wrote

Taleb is best known for his international bestseller “The Black Swan,” which explores the impact of rare and unpredictable events. He is also the author of “Antifragile,” “Fooled by Randomness” and “Skin in the Game,” and is regarded as one of the world’s leading thinkers on risk, uncertainty and financial markets. Born in Lebanon, he later moved to the United States during the Lebanese civil war and built a career as a trader, scholar and public intellectual. He visited Armenia in December 2023.

Vardanyan has been held in Azerbaijan since September 2023. In February 2026, a court in Baku sentenced him to 20 years in prison on multiple charges, while his supporters and international human rights advocates have raised concerns about the fairness of the proceedings and his continued detention.

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