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U.S. concerned about pardoning of Azerbaijani officer

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  • U.S. concerned about pardoning of Azerbaijani officer

    Xinhua General News Service, China
    August 31, 2012 Friday 7:40 PM EST

    U.S. concerned about pardoning of Azerbaijani officer

    WASHINGTON Aug. 31


    The United States on Friday expressed "deep concern" about
    Azerbaijan's pardoning of army officer Ramil Safarov after he was
    transferred from a Hungarian jail, a move that prompted Armenia to
    break off diplomatic ties with Hungary.

    "The United States is extremely troubled by the news that the
    president of Azerbaijan pardoned Azerbaijani army officer Ramil
    Safarov, who returned to Baku today following his transfer from
    Hungary," State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in a
    statement.

    Safarov, 35, had been serving a life sentence in a Hungarian jail for
    murdering Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan during a 2004 NATO
    training event in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. He was given a
    life sentence in 2006 by a Hungarian court.

    "We are expressing our deep concern to Azerbaijan regarding this
    action and seeking an explanation," Ventrell said, adding "We are also
    seeking further details from Hungary regarding the decision to
    transfer Mr. Safarov to Azerbaijan."

    Armenia responded by cutting off diplomatic ties with Hungary, as the
    Central Asian nation is still in conflict with Azerbaijan over
    Nagorno-Karabakh, a region that lies within Azerbaijan but has been
    controlled by Armenian troops and ethnic forces since a separatist war
    broke out in 1988.

    Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a cease-fire agreement in 1994 but the
    conflict has never been truly settled despite mediation by the Minsk
    Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that
    was co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States.

    "We condemn any action that fuels regional tensions," said Ventrell.


    From: Baghdasarian
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