Relationship dossier
Azerbaijan
Hungary
Relationship assessment
Azerbaijan and Hungary maintain a strategic partnership with growing energy cooperation.
Azerbaijan toward Hungary
+45Azerbaijan has developed energy cooperation with Hungary, including gas supplies that began in 2023, and has pursued closer political and economic ties through the bilateral strategic partnership.
Hungary toward Azerbaijan
+45Hungary has pursued a strategic partnership with Azerbaijan and closer energy and economic ties. In 2012, Hungary transferred Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan, where he was pardoned; the decision drew international criticism.
Overall relationship
+45The relationship is anchored by a strategic partnership and concrete energy cooperation, including Azerbaijani gas supplies to Hungary. Political and economic engagement has continued despite controversy over Hungary’s 2012 transfer of Ramil Safarov, which Azerbaijan pardoned.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Azerbaijan and Hungary have developed a substantial cooperative relationship, including a strategic partnership and cooperation on energy. Azerbaijan began supplying gas to Hungary in 2023, and the countries have pursued closer economic and political ties. Hungary’s 2012 transfer of Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan was a controversial episode that drew international criticism, but the broader relationship has since featured continued cooperation.
Areas of tension
- The 2012 transfer of Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan and his subsequent pardon drew international criticism.
Key developments
Hungary transferred Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan; Azerbaijan pardoned him after his return.
Azerbaijan and Hungary established a strategic partnership.
Azerbaijani gas supplies to Hungary began.
Major uncertainties
- The scale and long-term reliability of Azerbaijani gas supplies to Hungary are unclear.
- The scope and implementation of bilateral economic and political cooperation remain uncertain.