YEREVAN. – Armenia has no problems with the Hungarian state, but rather with its government, Armenia’s ruling Republican Party MP and National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Chairman Artak Zakaryan stated, during a press conference on Monday, commenting on the Hungarian MFA’s recent note.  

In Zakaryan’s words, the Hungarian government took a predictable step by sending a note to Armenia’s MFA. “But diplomatic notes alone are insufficient to normalize relations between countries. Hungary needs to prove that it is committed to European values and that relations between the two countries are not built on unilateral trust. Hungary must formally apologize to Armenia, in the ethical and legal domain alike,” he said.      

To note, the Hungarian MFA had sent a note to its Armenian counterpart and proposed Armenia to end its unilateral suspension of diplomatic ties with Hungary.

Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier that Ramil Safarov, a lieutenant in the Azerbaijani military, was extradited on August 31 from Hungary, where he was serving a life sentence—and with no expression of either regret or remorse—for the premeditated axe murder of Armenian lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan, in his sleep, during a NATO Partnership for Peace program in Budapest back in 2004.

As expected, Ramil Safarov’s return to Baku was welcomed, as was his act of murder, by the officials of president Ilham Aliyev’s government and much of Azerbaijani society, and the Azerbaijani president immediately granted him a pardon.

And Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan announced on August 31 that Armenia is suspending its diplomatic ties with Hungary.    

Ramil Safarov’s pardoning is condemned by virtually all international organizations.