Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has requested permission to open a consulate in Yerevan as Budapest works to mend diplomatic relations ties. Armenia and Hungary became estranged and froze diplomatic relations in 2012 after Hungarian authorities extradited an Azerbaijani army officer, Ramil Safarov, who killed a sleeping Armenian colleague in Budapest in 2004. Despite being sentenced to life in prison by a Hungarian court, on his return to Azerbaijan Safarov was pardoned and promoted. The Hungarian government claims to have received assurances that Safarov would serve the rest of his life sentence in an Azerbaijani prison.
Armenia and Hungary agreed to restore diplomatic ties last year, despite Hungary never apologising for Safarov’s release and continuing to support Azerbaijan in the Karabakh conflict. Szijjarto emphasised the shared „Christian heritage and Christian faith” as being “the easiest foundation on which we can rebuild this relationship,” between the two nations. Hungary also supports Armenia’s efforts to deepen ties with the EU.
