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Armenians Say Hungary Made No Effort To Resolve Friction Over Azeri

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  • Armenians Say Hungary Made No Effort To Resolve Friction Over Azeri

    ARMENIANS SAY HUNGARY MADE NO EFFORT TO RESOLVE FRICTION OVER AZERI MURDERER

    http://www.armradio.am/en/2013/09/20/armenians-say-hungary-made-no-effort-to-resolve-friction-over-azeri-murderer/
    10:42 20.09.2013

    Over the past year the Hungarian government has made almost no effort
    to resolve the friction that resulted from the repatriation of an
    Azeri murderer who was freed after arriving home, the head of the
    self-government of ethnic Armenians said, politics.ru reports.

    Azeri officer Ramil Safarov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment
    for killing an Armenian in Budapest in 2004, was transferred back to
    his home country on August 31, 2012 under an extradition agreement.

    Although Azerbaijan formally pledged that the life sentence handed down
    to him in Hungary would be directly continued when he was returned to
    his homeland, the Azerbaijani president granted him clemency. Armenian
    President Serzh Sargsyan announced the same day that Armenia suspended
    diplomatic relations with Hungary.

    Two days later State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Zsolt Nemeth summoned
    the Azerbaijani ambassador to his office and condemned the Azerbaijani
    step as unacceptable to Hungary in a diplomatic note.

    The head of the Armenian self-government Sevan Sargsyan told the press
    that it is still not known what advantage Hungary had gained from
    the repatriation of Safarov. The European Union could put pressure
    on Azerbaijan through the Eastern Partnership programme but Hungary
    has made no steps to achieve this, he added. According to Sevan, the
    "total lack of interest" demonstrated by Hungary in this matter is
    "shocking".

    The Foreign Ministry said in response that the Hungarian government
    had taken several steps to restore Hungarian-Armenian diplomatic
    links, for instance Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi sent a letter
    to Armenian counterpart Edvard Nalbandjan about this on September 7,
    2012. The ministry also sent a diplomatic note to the Armenian ministry
    to confirm the wish to restore relations.

    The Foreign Ministry initiated dialogue with the officials of the
    self-government of ethnic Armenians in Hungary right after the
    repatriation of Safarov, the statement added.

    "It is in Hungary's interest that Hungarian-Armenian friendship
    should further deepen and cooperation between the two countries should
    strengthen and broaden in every field of life, including diplomatic
    relations," the ministry said.

    The ministry also said that the standing of diplomatic links between
    Hungary and Armenia must not, and does not, have any effect on the
    situation of ethnic Armenians in Hungary. The ministry, moreover,
    rejects charges by the Armenian self-government that the government
    handled ethnic Armenians in Hungary as "traitors" and that they
    cannot feel safe in Hungary anymore. The ministry also rejects the
    claim that the ethnic Armenians in Hungary are left out of efforts
    to restore diplomatic links between Hungary and Armenia.

    In line with Hungary's constitution, ethnic minorities are part of
    the Hungarian political community and are state-forming elements,
    and Hungary guarantees to nurture and protect the minorities' language
    and culture, the statement said.

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