Armenian ambassador alleged Azerbaijani counterpart threatened to  kill him in Brussels bust up

ArmInfo.The Armenian Embassy has lodged a formal protest with other diplomatic missions in  Brussels after its ambassador claimed to have been on the receiving end of death threats from his Azerbaijani counterpart.

A letter circulated to envoys last week, seen by POLITICO, alleged  that Armenian Ambassador Tigran Balayan was "verbally attacked and  intimidated" by Azerbaijani Ambassador Vaqif Sadiqov, who "voiced  explicit threats against his life."

The incident is said to have happened at a reception at the Tangla  Hotel in Brussels, hosted by the Turkish Embassy in honor of the  country's national day. It is understood to have been the first  Ankara-sponsored engagement the Armenian Embassy had been invited to  since a 2020 war between the country and Azerbaijan, a close ally of  Turkey.

However, speaking to POLITICO, Sadiqov denied the incident had taken  place, saying such allegations were "becoming ridiculous." According  to him, the reception had "good food, nice people" and was a  "standard diplomatic event as usual."

"I am not aware of any letter or allegation - Armenian diplomats can  claim whatever they want," he added.

The Armenian Embassy declined to comment further on the exchange. The  Turkish Embassy did not immediately reply to a request for  information.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been bitter foes since the fall of the  Soviet Union, fighting a series of wars since the 1990s over the  breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh that left hundreds of thousands  displaced on both sides.

A 44-day conflict in 2020 saw Azerbaijan take back control of swathes  of Armenian occupied territory and, in September last year,  Azerbaijani forces began a final assault on the mountainous area that  triggered a mass exodus of its 100,000 ethnic Armenian residents,  sparking allegations of ethnic cleansing.

The European Parliament has consistently called on Azerbaijan to  respect the rights of the Nagorno- Karabakh Armenians, as well as  condemning Azerbaijan's domestic human rights record.

A growing row between Brussels and Baku over its crackdown on  activists and journalists has ignited in recent weeks, just as  Western leaders prepared to fly to the country for critical climate  talks as part of the United Nations-organized COP29 conference.

Sadiqov drew criticism from the European Union last year over a  social media post where he appeared to threaten a delegation of MEPs  visiting Armenia alongside Balayan with being shot.

"The Istiglal IST-14.5 anti-materiel sniper rifle produced in  Azerbaijan has the effective firing range of about 3,000 meters," he  wrote underneath a post that showed the European politicians posing  along the tense frontier. "Guys, keep clear of Azerbaijani state  border."