Armenia Foreign Ministry sees cautious optimism in restoring diplomatic relations with Hungary

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Paruyr Hovhannisyan sees room for cautious optimism and need for additional steps for the restoration of the diplomatic relations between Armenia and Hungary.

During the joint session of the parliamentary standing committees today, lawmaker Sona Ghazaryan said that Armenia’s diplomatic ties with EU member state Hungary were suspended, but recently 5 Armenian captured citizens returned from Azerbaijan at the mediation of Hungary.

Asked whether restoration of the relations is possible, the deputy FM reminded that the relations were suspended because of the well-known incidents.

“Last year we saw that step by Hungary, as a result of which 5 captives returned to Armenia. After that we saw some other steps, support was provided to the school named after Gurgen Margaryan, as well as coronavirus vaccines were donated to Armenia”, the deputy FM said.

Hovhannisyan also recalled that a renovated Armenian catholic church has recently been opened in Budapest. The Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church also attended the ceremony and met with the President of Hungary.

“So, we see some steps in this direction. Of course, as we have stated previously, we are also ready to give a respective solution to that situation. Additional steps are needed. I think there is a room for cautious optimism there”, the deputy minister said.

On August 31, 2012, by the decision of the National Security Council of the Republic of Armenia, the diplomatic relations between Armenia and Hungary were suspended. The reason was the extradition of Ramil Safarov, an Azeri officer sentenced to life imprisonment by a Hungarian court for axing Armeniansleepingofficer Gurgen Margaryan in Budapest in 2004, to the Azerbaijani authorities, where the criminal was immediately pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev.