Armenia and Hungary held first political consultations in Budapest

ArmInfo. The first political consultations between Armenia and Hungary took place in  Budapest following the restoration of diplomatic ties. As reported by  the press service of the MFA, the parties discussed the potential for  advancing the bilateral agenda. They also talked about regional  matters and highlighted the importance of expanding the bilateral  legal framework, enhancing cooperation in trade, economics, culture,  education, tourism and other areas.

During the meeting, the participants thoroughly examined the efforts  aimed at enhancing Armenia's partnership with the EU. In this  context, they also discussed cooperation with Hungarian partners.   The Armenian delegation was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr  Hovhannisyan. During the consultations, he discussed the steps  Armenia has taken towards establishing peace in the South Caucasus,  shared the results of recent discussions on normalizing  Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, and presented the "Crossroads of  Peace" project developed by the Armenian government.

Recall that in 2012, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban returned  Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan, hailing him as a national "hero" for  brutally murdering Armenian officer Gurgen Markaryan with an axe.   Margaryan was undergoing military training in Hungary. In response,  the political leadership of Armenia at the time decided to freeze  diplomatic relations with Hungary.

In December 2022, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with  his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto on the sidelines of the  29th OSCE Ministerial Meeting. Following the meeting, the parties  reached an agreement on the restoration of full-fledged diplomatic  relations, expressing their intention to open a new chapter in  Armenian-Hungarian relations based on mutual trust and respect for  international law. In May 2023, Armenia appointed Ashot Smbatyan as  its non-resident ambassador to Hungary.