YEREVAN. – Azerbaijan granted pardon to Ramil Safarov, who committed a brutal murder, and this should not be glorified, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stated Thursday, while addressing the students and faculty at Yerevan State University (YSU), and noted that he is deeply concerned over this development (PHOTOS).

In NATO Secretary General’s words, the granting of pardon will not contribute to peaceful settlement of the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.   

“The conflict between the two countries must not resume, the tension must be weakened and not escalated. The Caucasus region is endowed with great possibilities. Armenia has great resources, NATO assists Armenia in building peace and stability in the region because Armenia deserves it. Some people think this is impossible, but we must achieve it,” Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.        

To note, around 200-300 youth had held a demonstration Thursday, in front of YSU Central Building, to protest NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s visit to Armenia and YSU.

The young people held banners protesting Hungary’s extradition of Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan and his being pardoned there, Armenian News-NEWS.am reporter informed from YSU.

Aside from banners, the young protesters also held Gurgen Margaryan’s picture as well as his killer, Ramil Safarov’s photograph with a red cross on it. 

And upon NATO Secretary General’s arrival at YSU, the youth chanted “Justice!” while Anders Fogh Rasmussen saluted them and entered the University.   

While in Yerevan the NATO Secretary General will meet with President Serzh Sargsyan, FM Edward Nalbandian, and Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan. 

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.