BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 5. EU official's erroneous opinions, which once again gravely distort reality, are unacceptable, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada said, Trend reports.
He responded to statements made by the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell.
Aykhan Hajizada stated that Vice President of the EU Commission Josep Borrell's indifference to the illegal presence of Armenian armed forces on Azerbaijani territory, which was the primary source of threats to Azerbaijan and led to counter-terrorism measures, is an example of a clear bias against Azerbaijan.
"Given that the country he has long represented has been a victim of separatism, such words by Joseph Borrell in support of separatist tendencies are surprising," he said.
Regardless of international organizations' assessments, the claim that Armenian people who migrated from the region to Armenia and other countries were forcibly deported, as well as the purposeful misrepresentation of their numbers, point to a worrisome trend. This is also a violation of the rights of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis who have been driven from their homes as a result of Armenia's ethnic cleansing and genocide strategy and whose rights have not been protected.
It is known to the EU that 15,000 of the Armenians who left this territory were personnel of the Armed Forces of Armenia. At the same time, while Armenia noted the number of Armenians who left the territory at 100,000, Josep Borrell's mentioning about 150,000 leads to a serious misunderstanding.
At the same time, such false statements by Josep Borrell undermine the EU's mediation efforts and EU Council President Charles Michel's mission in this direction.
"We would also like to remind the EU Representative that the use of force by Armenia against Azerbaijan and our civilians was the reason for the lasting conflict in the region for 30 years. In accordance with the norms and principles of international law, Azerbaijan took legitimate measures and resolved the conflict by military-political means," he said.
Hajizada urged the EU representative to put an end to such confrontational and provocative statements.