Azernews.Az

Hungary knew its decision to hand convicted military officer Ramil Safarov over to his native Azerbaijan would spark a diplomatic backlash from Armenia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Budapest released Safarov to Azerbaijan last month where Azeri President Ilham Aliyev pardoned him on arrival. Safarov had served eight years of a life sentence for killing an Armenian officer during a NATO-sponsored training session in Hungary in 2004.

Armenia immediately broke diplomatic ties with Hungary and said that releasing Safarov, who was given a hero's welcome on his return, was a "grave mistake".

Orban was asked at a news conference about a report by news portal origo.hu, which said the prime minister had taken the decision despite being warned about the risks of such a move.

"There was coordination within the entire government about this," Orban said. "Each ministry presented its opinion, the justice ministry about the legal side and the foreign ministry about the diplomatic consequences."

Orban said he had then announced the decision personally in line with general procedure.

"The foreign ministry had forecast precisely what types of consequences this or the other decision may have," he added.

Ramil Safarov hails from Jabrayil, one of Azerbaijan's regions that are under Armenian occupation. Safarov, 35, who participated in NATO exercises in Hungary, was charged with the murder of the Armenian officer, Gurgen Margaryan, who insulted the Azerbaijani flag, and was handed down a life sentence by a Budapest court.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.