Armenian president proposes to discuss the continuation of diplomatic relations with Hungary

YEREVAN, August 31. /ARKA/. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan at an emergency meeting of the National Security Council on Friday proposed to consider continuation of diplomatic relations with Hungary after Hungarian authorities extradited an Azerbaijani army officer, Ramil Safarov, who was sentenced in Hungary to life in prison for killing an Armenian officer, Gurgen Markarian. 

Upon the arrival in Azerbaijan Safarov was immediately pardoned by president Ilham Aliyev.  

In 2006, a Hungarian court sentenced Ramil Safarov, now 35, to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 30 years. Safarov was found guilty of killing an Armenian Army officer, Gurgen Markarian, during NATO exercises in Hungary in 2004. 

"You know what happened. The bashibozuk,(literally ‘damaged head’ in Turkish) who killed Gurgen Margarian was extradited by the Hungarian authorities to Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani president has pardoned this killer. Naturally, we can not put up with this, and have to decide what we will do " the president said.

Sargsyan said the first step has been taken. The chief of staff of the armed forces and defense minister have ordered to raise vigilance in the army. "This is a necessary condition," he said.

The President also told the chief of the National Security Service, Gorik Hakobyan, to see him after the meeting to get appropriate instructions.

"It would be correct if the National Assembly convened a meeting to discuss the matter," he said. The President also ordered to prepare letters to the heads of states of the OSCE Minsk Group.

"It is necessary to give appropriate instructions to all our diplomatic structures. I have already contacted the leaders of our traditional parties, and I am confident that the assessment of our nation should be voiced abroad as well. Hungarian authorities have to understand that they had made a grave mistake. They in fact, have struck a deal with the Azerbaijani authorities," he said.

According to him, Azerbaijan statements that secret talks proceeded for more than a year and that the question was finally resolved during a visit to Baku by Hungarian prime minister indicate that it was not a decision of the minister of justice, but a concerted action of two countries that have entered into a deal. "We must react to this. This is no ordinary murder; it's an ethnicity-motivated murder, which is justified by an EU member state. This is a very bad thing," Sargsyan said.

Citing Hungarian media reports Armenian newspapers said a couple of days ago that Azerbaijan was going to buy Hungarian government bonds worth 3.2 billion euros. According to analysts, Baku has used this deal to return Safarov. -0-