Hungary against Armenia’s militarisation Budapest’s justice

Hysteria is spreading again in the Armenian media. There are plenty of reasons for it in Armenia which is a loser in the South Caucasus. However, this time the media outlets are hysterical because Hungary is blocking the European Peace Facility’s support for Armenia rather than due to the scale of the internal political crisis in the country or the beating of journalists by the police.

A preliminary agreement was reached in Brussels in mid-April to render assistance to Armenia in the amount of 10 million euros ($10.7 million). According to the documents, the money is to be used to create a modular field camp for one battalion, which should include one dispensary for rendering medical care, as well as related services and facilities.  

“The purpose is to help the Armenian Armed Forces to increase their resilience and capacity to establish stability, and thereby better protect civilians during crises and emergency situations,” says the document, the adoption of which, Hungary has been blocking for several weeks.

There is also an explanation. Citing diplomatic sources from Radio Liberty, Armenian media outlets reported that Hungary is demanding that Azerbaijan must be also included in the programme, which, according to the same source, is seen as a way out of the impasse. What's wrong here? After all, Azerbaijan is a country the territories of which have been occupied for almost thirty years. A huge number of Azerbaijani settlements were plundered by the Armenian occupiers.

However, there is no such a district as Aghdam in Armenia, which has been turned into a “Caucasian Hiroshima”. Armenia does not need to spend huge money on demining its territories, while Azerbaijan is forced to do this. Armenia’s crimes against Azerbaijan can be listed for a very long time. However, Armenia was not condemned by the so-called international community for any crime. On the contrary, the assistance, including military assistance, was planned to be rendered. We know very well what the European Peace Facility is dealing with.

It is clear that Hungary, a friend of Azerbaijan, could not come to terms with this injustice. The local diplomats also carried out the corresponding work. In any case, Hungary is acting fairly by blocking the unilateral European Peace Facility support for Armenia. The Armenian media outlets are screaming, complaining that Budapest has once again supported Azerbaijan.

“I remember when in 2010 many people criticized us for the relations with Azerbaijan. However, now those who criticized us dream of being photographed with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev,” Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said.

The minister emphasised that time has demonstrated the Hungarian government’s correct decision to build strategic relations with Baku. It was true. Here we should add something.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had a phone talk with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on April 16, informing him about the pressure that Belgrade has recently been subjected to, asked for support from the friendly Azerbaijani people. Last week, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev visited Germany, where he delivered a speech at a high-level meeting of the 15th Petersberg Climate Dialogue. During his speech, he pointed out that Azerbaijan has signed declarations of strategic partnership with nine EU member states.

All this shows that Azerbaijan gives priority to building equal and mutually beneficial relations with leading world and regional powers, without entering into any blocs. Baku is firmly committed to multilateralism. This also shows that Azerbaijan has a lot of friends. The Armenian side can not even imagine the number of Azerbaijan’s friends. Armenia can only regret about its failure, seeing its own powerlessness.

Akbar Hasanov