Making hero out of Safarov will only add to escalation of high tension in the region; CSTO secRetary General says

YEREVAN, September 3. /ARKA/. Azerbaijan’s decision to grant pardon to Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani army Lt. convicted by a Hungarian court to life in prison for killing an Armenian colleague, runs counter to the international law, Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Nikolay Bordyuzha, said in a statement Monday. 

“This decision questions also the efficiency of the interstate system of fighting crime,” the statement reads.

“This move, which apparently was made for some political reasons, cannot be justified. Making a hero out of the criminal will only contribute to the escalation of the already high tension in the region. I am convinced the international community will not hesitate to give an impartial assessment to what happened,” Nikolay Bordyuzha stressed in his statement. 

In response Armenian President Serge Sargsyan announced the cutting of ties with Hungary in a specially called meeting with foreign ambassadors based in Yerevan. He said Armenia would "not tolerate" this step and would henceforth "judge the attitude of our partners towards the security of the Armenian nation by their response to this incident." U.S. president Barack Obama issued a statement expressing "disappointment" and "concern." -0-