NATO Secretary General: Pardoning Safarov is a crime

 Extradition of Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov and Azerbaijani president's decision to pardon the murderer hinder confidence building between Armenia and Azerbaijan, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a joint press conference with President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, Thursday in Yerevan.

Pardoning of Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani officer that killed an Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan in Budapest in 2004, is a crime like his glorification in Azerbaijan.  NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has arrived in Armenia on a two-day official visit on September 5-6. Secretary General Rasmussen is visiting Armenia while traveling to the region. He will visit Baku on September 7. 

Asked how he will shake the hand of the Azerbaijani president who signed the decree to pardon the killer, Rasmussen said he is anxious
about the incident and will express his viewpoint to Aliyev.

To recall, on August 31 the Armenian authorities adopted a decision to suspend diplomatic relations and official contacts with Hungary
after the Hungarian authorities extradited Azeri officer Ramil Safarov, who was sentenced by a Hungarian court to life in jail for
killing sleeping Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan with an axe in Budapest in 2004. Both the officers were undergoing an English
language course under the NATO PfP program. The same day after Safarov's extradition, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev decreed to pardon
and reward the criminal.

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
US and Ukraine sign deal giving US access to country’s valuable mineral wealth

US and Ukraine sign deal giving US access to country’s valuable mineral wealth

The United States and Ukraine have signed a minerals deal after a two-month delay, in what President Donald Trump's administration called a new form of US commitment to Kyiv after the end of military aid. Ukraine said it secured key interests after protracted negotiations, including full sovereignty over its own rare earths, which are vital for new technologies and largely untapped. Trump had initially demanded rights to Ukraine's mineral wealth as compensation for US weapons sent under former president Joe Biden after Russia invaded just over three years ago.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
US and Ukraine sign deal giving US access to country’s valuable mineral wealth

US and Ukraine sign deal giving US access to country’s valuable mineral wealth

The United States and Ukraine have signed a minerals deal after a two-month delay, in what President Donald Trump's administration called a new form of US commitment to Kyiv after the end of military aid. Ukraine said it secured key interests after protracted negotiations, including full sovereignty over its own rare earths, which are vital for new technologies and largely untapped. Trump had initially demanded rights to Ukraine's mineral wealth as compensation for US weapons sent under former president Joe Biden after Russia invaded just over three years ago.