At the European Union Foreign Affairs Council meeting held in Brussels on November 13, issues related to Azerbaijan and Armenia were discussed. The EU decided to strengthen its Mission in Armenia to increase the number of observers and patrols in sensitive areas of the Azerbaijan-Armenia borderline.

Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said that the EU should be vigilant against any attempt to destabilize Armenia from inside and outside. "Our message to Azerbaijan is clear. Violating Armenia's territorial integrity in any way will be considered unacceptable and will have a serious impact on the quality of our relations," said the senior EU diplomat (read more about Josep Borrell's statements).

Azerbaijan responds

In a commentary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan said that the accusations against Azerbaijan, deliberately distorting the realities in the region, voiced by Josep Borrell, are completely inadequate and unacceptable.

"Against the backdrop of the European Union's indifference to Armenia's armed aggression against Azerbaijan’s sovereign territories for over 30 years, as well as its refusal to condemn the fact of over 1 million Azerbaijanis becoming internally displaced persons and refugees and the policy of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity targeting Azerbaijanis, this organization’s apparent support toward Armenia and its threatening rhetoric against Azerbaijan are clear examples of its biased policy and double standards. As it has been demonstrated by the EU External Action Service's hypocritical policies in these and other regions, this organization has fallen victim to its own wrongful actions," it added.

"At the same time, the accusations made by the EU representative, who failed to make any effort to persuade Armenia to act in line with the norms and principles of international law, constitute a threat to Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty," the report noted.

"Against the backdrop of EU member states facing aggressive separatist tendencies, attempts by the EU foreign policy body to incite separatism in the territory of Azerbaijan about our country’s just struggle against existing threats in its sovereign territories are a source of serious concern," it stressed.

"The EU's attempts to supply Armenia with weaponry and thereby support its insidious militarization policy that undermines peace and stability in our region encourage a policy leading to new confrontations in the region that lays a responsibility on the EU. Plans to employ the European Peace Facility, which, among other areas, implies the buildup of military capabilities, serve to exacerbate tensions in the region. We stress once more that the use of threatening language with Azerbaijan is unacceptable, and any unfriendly conduct will not result in a beneficial outcome and will be effectively responded to," the ministry said.