Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zsolt Nemeth summoned Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Hungary Vilayat Guliyev into his office on Sunday to hand over a diplomatic note and inform the ambassador that Hungary considers it unacceptable that Ramil Sahib Safarov, who was sentenced for manslaughter by a Hungarian court, received pardon from the President of Azerbaijan.

The foreign ministry sent a copy of the diplomatic note to MTI on Sunday afternoon.

The document shows that Hungary's government had learnt with shock about the decision of the Azerbaijani side to grant pardon to Safarov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for manslaughter in 2006.

"Hungary refuses to accept and condemns the action of Azerbaijan, which contradicts the relevant rules of international law and sharply contrasts the undertaking of the Azerbaijani side in this matter, confirmed by the Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan in his letter XX-NBSKFO/3743/4/2012 of 15 August 2012 addressed to the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice of Hungary," the document said.

According to the ministry, in this letter Azerbaijan quoted the relevant international Convention and undertook that the sentenced person would serve the remaining part of his prison sentence in Azerbaijan and may be released on conditional parole only after at least 25 years.

"Hungary regards the decision of Azerbaijan inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation based on mutual trust that has been achieved during the past years between our respective countries," the note added.

Safarov was convicted in Hungary for murdering Armenian fellow-soldier Gurgen Margaryan with an axe in 2004 in Budapest. On returning to Azerbaijan on Friday, Safarov requested and got a pardon from his country's president Ilham Aliyev. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in Yerevan later in the day that Armenia had decided to break diplomatic ties with Hungary.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)