Armenian ambassador alleged Azerbaijani counterpart threatened to kill him in Brussels bust up
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ArmInfo.The Armeniannbsp;Embassy has lodged a formal protest with other diplomatic missions innbsp;Brussels after its ambassador claimed to have been on the receivingnbsp;end of death threats from his Azerbaijani counterpart.
A letter circulated to envoys last week, seen by POLITICO, allegednbsp;that Armenian Ambassador Tigran Balayan was quot;verbally attacked andnbsp;intimidatedquot; by Azerbaijani Ambassador Vaqif Sadiqov, who quot;voicednbsp;explicit threats against his life.quot;
The incident is said to have happened at a reception at the Tanglanbsp;Hotel in Brussels, hosted by the Turkish Embassy in honor of thenbsp;country#39;s national day. It is understood to have been the firstnbsp;Ankara-sponsored engagement the Armenian Embassy had been invited tonbsp;since a 2020 war between the country and Azerbaijan, a close ally ofnbsp;Turkey.
However, speaking to POLITICO, Sadiqov denied the incident had takennbsp;place, saying such allegations were quot;becoming ridiculous.quot; Accordingnbsp;to him, the reception had quot;good food, nice peoplequot; and was anbsp;quot;standard diplomatic event as usual.quot;
quot;I am not aware of any letter or allegation - Armenian diplomats cannbsp;claim whatever they want,quot; he added.
The Armenian Embassy declined to comment further on the exchange. Thenbsp;Turkish Embassy did not immediately reply to a request fornbsp;information.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been bitter foes since the fall of thenbsp;Soviet Union, fighting a series of wars since the 1990s over thenbsp;breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh that left hundreds of thousandsnbsp;displaced on both sides.
A 44-day conflict in 2020 saw Azerbaijan take back control of swathesnbsp;of Armenian occupied territory and, in September last year,nbsp;Azerbaijani forces began a final assault on the mountainous area thatnbsp;triggered a mass exodus of its 100,000 ethnic Armenian residents,nbsp;sparking allegations of ethnic cleansing.
The European Parliament has consistently called on Azerbaijan tonbsp;respect the rights of the Nagorno- Karabakh Armenians, as well asnbsp;condemning Azerbaijan#39;s domestic human rights record.
A growing row between Brussels and Baku over its crackdown onnbsp;activists and journalists has ignited in recent weeks, just asnbsp;Western leaders prepared to fly to the country for critical climatenbsp;talks as part of the United Nations-organized COP29 conference.
Sadiqov drew criticism from the European Union last year over anbsp;social media post where he appeared to threaten a delegation of MEPsnbsp;visiting Armenia alongside Balayan with being shot.
quot;The Istiglal IST-14.5 anti-materiel sniper rifle produced innbsp;Azerbaijan has the effective firing range of about 3,000 meters,quot; henbsp;wrote underneath a post that showed the European politicians posingnbsp;along the tense frontier. quot;Guys, keep clear of Azerbaijani statenbsp;border.quot;
A letter circulated to envoys last week, seen by POLITICO, allegednbsp;that Armenian Ambassador Tigran Balayan was quot;verbally attacked andnbsp;intimidatedquot; by Azerbaijani Ambassador Vaqif Sadiqov, who quot;voicednbsp;explicit threats against his life.quot;
The incident is said to have happened at a reception at the Tanglanbsp;Hotel in Brussels, hosted by the Turkish Embassy in honor of thenbsp;country#39;s national day. It is understood to have been the firstnbsp;Ankara-sponsored engagement the Armenian Embassy had been invited tonbsp;since a 2020 war between the country and Azerbaijan, a close ally ofnbsp;Turkey.
However, speaking to POLITICO, Sadiqov denied the incident had takennbsp;place, saying such allegations were quot;becoming ridiculous.quot; Accordingnbsp;to him, the reception had quot;good food, nice peoplequot; and was anbsp;quot;standard diplomatic event as usual.quot;
quot;I am not aware of any letter or allegation - Armenian diplomats cannbsp;claim whatever they want,quot; he added.
The Armenian Embassy declined to comment further on the exchange. Thenbsp;Turkish Embassy did not immediately reply to a request fornbsp;information.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been bitter foes since the fall of thenbsp;Soviet Union, fighting a series of wars since the 1990s over thenbsp;breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh that left hundreds of thousandsnbsp;displaced on both sides.
A 44-day conflict in 2020 saw Azerbaijan take back control of swathesnbsp;of Armenian occupied territory and, in September last year,nbsp;Azerbaijani forces began a final assault on the mountainous area thatnbsp;triggered a mass exodus of its 100,000 ethnic Armenian residents,nbsp;sparking allegations of ethnic cleansing.
The European Parliament has consistently called on Azerbaijan tonbsp;respect the rights of the Nagorno- Karabakh Armenians, as well asnbsp;condemning Azerbaijan#39;s domestic human rights record.
A growing row between Brussels and Baku over its crackdown onnbsp;activists and journalists has ignited in recent weeks, just asnbsp;Western leaders prepared to fly to the country for critical climatenbsp;talks as part of the United Nations-organized COP29 conference.
Sadiqov drew criticism from the European Union last year over anbsp;social media post where he appeared to threaten a delegation of MEPsnbsp;visiting Armenia alongside Balayan with being shot.
quot;The Istiglal IST-14.5 anti-materiel sniper rifle produced innbsp;Azerbaijan has the effective firing range of about 3,000 meters,quot; henbsp;wrote underneath a post that showed the European politicians posingnbsp;along the tense frontier. quot;Guys, keep clear of Azerbaijani statenbsp;border.quot;