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PEACE TEAM REBUKES AZERBAIJAN
The New York Times
September 4, 2012 Tuesday
Late Edition - Final
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- International mediators from the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe said on Monday that Azerbaijan's
decision to pardon an Azeri soldier who killed an Armenian officer
had damaged the peace process in the region.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at odds since a war between ethnic
Azeris and Armenians erupted in 1991 over the mainly Armenian
Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. A cease-fire was signed in 1994, but
cross-border clashes this year have prompted worries of a resumption
of fighting.
Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, last week pardoned Ramil
Safarov, who had been sentenced to life in prison in Hungary for the
2004 killing of an Armenian officer during NATO training but was sent
back to Azerbaijan.
Armenia suspended diplomatic relations with Hungary, calling Hungary's
decision to send Mr. Safarov back to Azerbaijan "a grave mistake."
Mr. Safarov was given a hero's welcome in Azerbaijan, where thousands
of people took to the streets to greet him in his native city,
Sumgait. The government promoted him to the rank of major and paid
his salary for the eight years he was in custody.
The international mediators, including representatives of the United
States, Russia and France, met with the foreign ministers of Armenia
and Azerbaijan after the pardon threatened to inflame tensions.
The mediators "expressed their deep concern and regret for the damage
the pardon and any attempts to glorify the crime have done to the peace
process and trust between the sides," the group said in a statement.
Azerbaijan said its president had acted in line with the law and
dismissed criticism from Europe, Russia and the United States, as
well as Armenia's reaction.
"The hysterical approach of the Armenian leadership was targeted at
the local population and was meant to be a populist political show,"
said Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Elman Abdullayev.
A White House statement on Friday said that President Obama was "deeply
concerned" by the pardon, and that the action was "contrary to ongoing
efforts to reduce regional tensions and promote reconciliation."
URL:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/world/europe/international-mediators-rebuke-azerbaijan-over-pardon.html
The New York Times
September 4, 2012 Tuesday
Late Edition - Final
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- International mediators from the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe said on Monday that Azerbaijan's
decision to pardon an Azeri soldier who killed an Armenian officer
had damaged the peace process in the region.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at odds since a war between ethnic
Azeris and Armenians erupted in 1991 over the mainly Armenian
Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. A cease-fire was signed in 1994, but
cross-border clashes this year have prompted worries of a resumption
of fighting.
Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, last week pardoned Ramil
Safarov, who had been sentenced to life in prison in Hungary for the
2004 killing of an Armenian officer during NATO training but was sent
back to Azerbaijan.
Armenia suspended diplomatic relations with Hungary, calling Hungary's
decision to send Mr. Safarov back to Azerbaijan "a grave mistake."
Mr. Safarov was given a hero's welcome in Azerbaijan, where thousands
of people took to the streets to greet him in his native city,
Sumgait. The government promoted him to the rank of major and paid
his salary for the eight years he was in custody.
The international mediators, including representatives of the United
States, Russia and France, met with the foreign ministers of Armenia
and Azerbaijan after the pardon threatened to inflame tensions.
The mediators "expressed their deep concern and regret for the damage
the pardon and any attempts to glorify the crime have done to the peace
process and trust between the sides," the group said in a statement.
Azerbaijan said its president had acted in line with the law and
dismissed criticism from Europe, Russia and the United States, as
well as Armenia's reaction.
"The hysterical approach of the Armenian leadership was targeted at
the local population and was meant to be a populist political show,"
said Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Elman Abdullayev.
A White House statement on Friday said that President Obama was "deeply
concerned" by the pardon, and that the action was "contrary to ongoing
efforts to reduce regional tensions and promote reconciliation."
URL:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/world/europe/international-mediators-rebuke-azerbaijan-over-pardon.html