On December 5, addressing the EU-NGO Forum in Brussels, Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, lamented the current world order of what he called the return of brutal power politics.

"More and more conflicts are being solved by the use of force. Something that was supposed to be forbidden. Not the use of force to solve conflicts, but what I see is that there are more and more conflicts are being solved by force," Borrell emphasized. "Look, for example, at what has happened in Azerbaijan and Armenia. A long-frozen conflict that suddenly has been – I would not say solved – but decisively determined by a military intervention that, in one week, made 150,000 people move. In one week. Like this. One hundred fifty thousand people had to abandon their houses and run. And the international community regretted [it], expressed concern, sent humanitarian support, but it happened with the use of force," Borrell added.

Borrell reminded that the European Union had condemned "Azerbaijan’s military attack against Nagorno-Karabakh" in September and had criticized the human casualties and the mass migration of Karabakh Armenians that took place due to the violence.

On the same day, Aykhan Hajizada, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, said that the EU official's erroneous opinions, which once again gravely distort reality, are unacceptable.

"Indifference by Josep Borrell, Vice-President of the EU Commission, towards the illegal existence of the Armenian armed forces in the territory of Azerbaijan, which was the primary source of threats to Azerbaijan and led to counter-terrorism measures, is an example of a clear bias against our country. Given the fact that the country he has long represented was a victim of separatism, such statements by Joseph Borrell in support of separatist tendencies are surprising. Notwithstanding the evaluation of international organizations, the allegation that Armenian residents who migrated from the region to Armenia and other countries were forcibly deported and the deliberate exaggeration of their number indicates a dangerous trend. This is also a disrespect for the rights of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis who have been expelled from their homes as a result of Armenia's policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide and whose rights have not been protected," he noted.

"It is known to the EU that 15,000 of the Armenians who left this territory were the personnel of the army of Armenia. At the same time, while Armenia noted the number of Armenians who left the territory at 100 thousand people, Josep Borrell's mentioning about 150 thousand leads to a serious misunderstanding," the spokesman added.

"At the same time, such false statements by Josep Borrell undermine EU's mediation efforts and EU Council President Charles Michel's mission in this direction," the statement added.

"Once again, we call the EU representative to end such confrontational and provocative statements," Hajizada concluded.

On December 6, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also commented on Borrel's statement. Speaking at "Karabakh: Returning Home after 30 Years. Achievements and Challenges" conference, Aliyev said that Borrell talked about the departure of 150,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, "while the Armenians themselves say about 100,000".

"This is a lie. Tomorrow Borrell can announce about 200,000 people who have left, depending on what dream he sees," the Azerbaijani president said.

Ilham Aliyev said that he is rather surprised that the Spanish Josep Borrell can "defend the separatists" in case when Spain suffered a lot from separatism.