Azerbaijan is expressing its gratitude to Hungary

According to several news websites and official press releases from Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan’s Heydar Aliyev Foundation has decided to carry out a humanitarian program in Hungary’s capital of Budapest within the scope of international cooperation. The program envisages the creation of a new center that will include a kindergarten and a school for the visually impaired. At first sight, this might seem very typical since Azerbaijan has been making a lot of efforts on the international level in the past couple of years. Based on reports in the presses and in the official documents of different countries, Azerbaijan is spending billions of dollars in an attempt to solve its major issues with funding from different international organizations, lobbying organizations, European officials and the former leaders of different countries. The country has developed a special lobbying plan aimed at affirming that Azerbaijan is one of the world’s richest and most humanitarian countries that is ready to carry out programs in other countries, contribute to interstate dialogues and turn Azerbaijan into one of the centers of the world. Unquestionably, many “investments” remind one of shady deals, which Azerbaijan is trying to legitimize through initiatives that are being carried out through ��?international cooperation’.

The program in Hungary is sparking great interest. It was only one-and-a-half year ago (August 31, 2013) when Hungary extradited Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan. In 2004, during the NATO courses in Budapest, Safarov axed Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan in his sleep, after which the Hungarian court gave him a life sentencing. For years, Hungary assured that it would follow international laws and agreements, wouldn’t take any step that would go against the existing laws and wouldn’t release Ramil Safarov. However, Hungary’s Prime Minister made a deal with Azerbaijan’s authorities, breached all agreements and extradited Ramil Safarov to Baku, ignoring the demands and warnings. Azerbaijan immediately received Ramil Safarov as a hero, granted him a special military ranking, compensated his salary, provided him with a house and sent him to Turkey for training…

It was at that moment when Azerbaijan took advantage of the heavy financial situation in Hungary and pledged to provide assistance to the country-something that “softened” the Hungarian authorities and gave the country’s Prime Minister the opportunity to declare that Hungary would be able to solve its issues very soon. According to an initial agreement, Azerbaijan had pledged to provide 3 billion dollars in financial assistance to Hungary. And now, the official Baku is fulfilling its promises and has already undertaken the construction of a humanitarian center…Hungarians haven’t accepted this initiative, but the authorities are persistent and demand that Azerbaijan fulfill its promises. It’s hard to say whether international organizations will respond to this or not, but it’s clear that Azerbaijan is already paying the bribe that it had promised Hungary…

L.M.

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