On December 1, Armenia and Hungary officially agreed to restore diplomatic ties suspended by Armenia a decade ago. The decision was announced during the meeting of Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto on the sidelines of an OSCE ministerial conference held in the Polish city of Lodz on December 1.  

Both sides agreed that there are deep historical and cultural ties and shared Christian heritage between the Armenian and Hungarian nations. They also stressed the importance of improving mutual relations. The sides underlined the role of the Armenian community in Hungary as an officially recognized national minority, which is one of the bridges between the two nations.

As a follow-up to the meeting, the two Governments will appoint non-resident Ambassadors to explore the possibilities of developing their relations - especially in the fields of trade, culture, education, and tourism. The necessary diplomatic and administrative procedures will begin in the coming days, the joint statement read.

Armenia severed diplomatic relations with Hungary in 2012 after the release of an Azeri army officer Ramil Safarov convicted of murdering an Armenian soldier. Safarov, at that time, was serving a life sentence in Hungary for axing to death Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian in 2004 during NATO training courses. Ramil Safarov was soon pardoned by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on his return to Azerbaijan.