News of his promotion went mostly unnoticed among Azerbaijani websites and media. A photo of Safarov donning his new epaulettes was mostly shared on small, low-traffic websites.

Comments in his profile show that the new title was awarded four months ago, but for some reason the news was not published until now.

According to the source, the news of Safarov’s promotion has caused controversial comments among the Azerbaijani Facebook community. Here are some typical comments without naming the authors:

“Congratulations on your new military rank Ramil! Don’t let your punching hand tremble!”

“Ramil Safarov, the pride of Azerbaijan, you deserve this title. May Allah keep [protect] you and our country.”

“We want to see you as the future Minister of Defense.”

“Safarova a General! It’s for the worse. He is extremely influential.”

“I wish we could have him on the front line. Let’s see how brave he is there. I’m a hero too. Killing under the cover of night.”

“I’ll be brief. This is a shame.”

“I can’t condemn Safarov, I wasn’t in his shoes and my relatives weren’t killed. But to make a hero out of him is not worth it. We’re setting the wrong example.”

Safarov was convicted in 2007 of murdering an Armenian fellow participant on a NATO training course in Hungary and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of release for 30 years.

After serving eight years of his sentence in Hungary, he was transferred to Azerbaijan under the Convention, which allows the transfer of foreign prisoners to their home countries for primarily humanitarian reasons.

Upon his arrival Safarov was welcomed as a national hero and granted an immediate pardon – long before the expiry of the minimum sentence set by the Hungarian court – and a retroactive promotion as well as other rewards.

The Paris meeting with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov was aimed at bringing Azerbaijan back to a constructive field, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian stated during the budget discussions at the National Assembly. Without going into detail about the results of the meetings, the Minister said it helped clarify the situation following the shameful deal on Safarov extradition, which was a serious blow to the negotiation process.

“Armenia declared a few days after Safarov’s transfer that it was resolute to continue the talks. If there is any party that does not want to continue the negotiations, it is the Azerbaijani side,” he said.

According to Nalbandian, there have been changes in the position of the international community over the past few months; a great number of countries and organizations have severely criticized and expressed their dismay over the Azerbaijani-Hungarian deal.

“Only one thing has remained unchanged: it is the willingness of Armenia and the international community to continue the negotiation process and impose a peaceful solution to Azerbaijan,” Minister Nalbandian stated.

RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan welcomed the Hungarian-Armenian community’s activities, especially the active efforts made after the Hungarian government’s decision to extradite the Azerbaijani murderer.

The leader of the Hungarian-Armenian community informed that the Hungarian government no longer wishes to touch upon and discuss the Azerbaijani killer’s issue after the extradition and that the Armenian community faces difficulties in holding talks on this matter. Instead, the community is in collaboration with progressive Hungarian public figures and intellectuals and the oppositional presses.

During the meeting, importance was attached to all Armenians’ unified position on the matter and the need for collaboration with the Armenian communities of different countries around the world.

Edward Sharmzanov noted that this was another manifestation of calling the things by their names. He expressed hope that the cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries would be more effective and continuous.

Přemysl Sobotka noted that the Parliament of the Czech Republic greatly emphasizes the protection of human rights and democratic values. He expressed readiness to further deepen Armenian-Czech inter-parliamentary relations.

The sides emphasized the fact that this resolution has been adopted on the eve of RA NA President Hovik Abrahamyan’s visit to the Czech Republic.

“The Committee expresses its deep concern and regret that the Azerbaijani president decided to grant pardon to Ramil Safarov, whom the court of a European Union member state had sentenced for murder; it considers this decision by the Azerbaijani president—as a symbolic move—that could add to further escalation of tension in relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan; also, it is concerned that this decision would hamper the reconciliation process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict-affected societies, and jeopardizes the future chance for a peaceful development of interpersonal contacts in the region,” the motion reads

The Committee commissioned it Chairman, Senator Jozef Regec, to inform the Senate President about this resolution.

In a response letter the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations Szijjarto Peter has written that the Hungarian Government has acted in full accordance with the 1983 Strasbourg Convention.

“The transfer of convicted persons is an act of international legal nature guided by well-defined, transparent procedures. We have followed our practice, as Hungary has dealt with 70 cases of similar nature since 2010,” the State Secretary noted, adding that “the transfer is not linked to any financial transaction.”

“The decision on this issue has in no way been directed against Armenia or the Armenian people who are held in high respect by the Hungarians since the Middle Ages, when Armenian families started to settle in the territories of the Hungarian Kingdom. In the light of this, Hungary deeply regrets the decision of the President of Armenia to suspend diplomatic relations and the Hungarian Government will consistently work for the earliest possible normalization,” the letter reads.

Armenian Officer Gurgen Margaryan was axed by Azeri Ramil Safarov during NATO courses in Budapest in 2004. On April 16, 2006, the Hungarian court sentenced Safarov to life imprisonment without possibility of appeal until 2036.

In late August 2012, however, Hungarian authorities agreed to release and extradite Safarov to Azerbaijan to serve the remainder of his sentence there. However, upon his arrival in Azerbaijan Safarov was pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev.  Safarov has since been promoted to the rank of major and provided with accomodations by the Azerbaijan government.

At a press conference in Yerevan, the Hungarian intellectuals said Safarov’s transfer was an incomprehensible and unacceptable political decision, which faced the severe criticism of the majority of Hungarians.

“Military exercises are an important military-political event, since we should always be ready for war. The conduct of drills should be welcomed,” military expert David Jamalyan told a press conference today.

“The situation at the line of contact is normal, everything is under control and the military exercises should not be linked to the threat of war. These are planned drills and are of preventive importance. They help to reinforce the fighting efficiency of the Armenian armed forces,” David Jamalyan said, adding that new drills are scheduled in Artsakh in the near future, during which new armaments will be demonstrated.

According to the expert, the reaction of Turkey and Azerbaijan to the opening of the Stpanakert Airport was predictable. As for the Turkish threats to close the air space for Armenia, Jamalyan said “there are corridors in the Armenian space, and we have our own tools to threaten the interests of many.” “Therefore, I don’t think they will move from words to action,” he added.

Touching upon Azerbaijan’s threats to shoot down civilian aircrafts, the expert said “our response could be very painful” and added that the opening of the airport cannot serve as a reason for large-scale military actions.

“By releasing and giving a hero’s welcome to Safarov, Aliyev managed to do what the Armenian side had failed to do for many years. He made it clear to the international community that Artsakh cannot exist under the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan, a country, which has made hatred towards Armenians part of its state policy,” Jamalyan said

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan  again accused Hungary of complicating the search for peace in the protracted conflict over Karabakh by handing over a confessed axe-killer of an Armenian to Azerbaijan several weeks ago.

In an exclusive interview with the Hungarian ATV channel aired at the weekend Sargsyan, at the same time, made clear that the responsibility for the bad decision rests entirely with Hungarian government officials and that his countrymen should not blame ordinary Hungarians for that.

“The decision of the Hungarian government not only jeopardized the Armenian-Hungarian relations, which is regretful, but also led to problems in the European Union’s Eastern policy and Armenia’s peace talks with Azerbaijan, and, therefore, put the stability of the region at risk,” Sargsyan said.

“But I would not like the Armenian people to turn their back on the Hungarians because of the Hungarian government that turned its back on Armenia,” the Armenian President added.

The Armenian President noted that he does not see an aspiration to solve the Karabakh conflict in Azerbaijan’s policy and added that Armenia is doing its best to reach that objective. The President stressed that in case of Azerbaijan’s possible military aggression against Karabakh, Armenia will support the citizens of Artsakh.