Now a need to define a new measure emerges. And the measure is due to be named after the chief of EU diplomacy – Josep Borrell.
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, may well claim to have some cynical and false information named in his honour, now or in the future. Mr Josep is a master of this art. Another example of the above occurred during the joint press conference with the Armenian Foreign Minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, in Brussels on February 13, during which Borrell indulged in an outright lie. Consider the gist of what the EU’s diplomatic and security chief had to say! “The shelling from the Armenian side towards the Azerbaijani soldiers was regrettable, but the reaction of Azerbaijan was disproportionate”. This statement by the person holding the post of Europe’s chief diplomat is enough to talk about the emergence of a standard of cynicism and lies measurable in “borrells”.
As we have seen, the EU representative was aware of the fact that Armenia had violated the ceasefire regime and that the atmosphere of fragile peace had been destroyed by the Armenian side. But he did not dare to condemn Yerevan, as if he was forbidden to do so. What Borrel said afterwards suggested that he had better keep quiet. His cynicism would have been less conspicuous.
According to Borrel, “Azerbaijan ignored the Armenian Defence Ministry’s statement that the incident that happened the day before was going to be fully investigated”. Really? Is he suggesting that Azerbaijan should not react to the shots that are fired in its direction? So that Armenian snipers can kill as many Azerbaijani soldiers as possible? And exactly how many Azerbaijani soldiers have to die from Armenian bullets for Borrell to be “sad” enough? So much that he would agree to consider the response of the Azerbaijani side “proportionate”?!
Moreover, the idea that the Armenian side would conduct an honest investigation is ridiculous and blasphemous. The Armenians carried out ethnic cleansing in Karabakh, including the genocide in Khojaly. Did Armenia conduct an honest investigation into this crime, name the perpetrators and punish them? No, it has not. On the contrary, Armenia continues to deny its guilt in the massacre of Azerbaijani civilians in Khojaly. And the third president of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, even bragged about this crime in an interview with Thomas de Waal. And against the background of all this, we hear Borrell’s statement suggesting that Azerbaijan should not react to the wounding of our border guard by an Armenian sniper based on the statement that Armenia is ready to carry out an investigation!
Borrell never once explained the importance of imposing sanctions on Armenia while Azerbaijani lands were under Armenian occupation. He did not condemn Armenia for shelling peaceful Azerbaijani towns during the 44-day war. This is despite the fact that Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report on December 11, 2020, stating that Armenian forces launched indiscriminate rocket attacks against Azerbaijan during the fighting between September and November 2020. But even after the report was published, Borrell failed to denounce Armenia. It is quite possible that he, too, considers this crime by the Armenian side to be just an “unfortunate” fact, while calling the liberation of previously occupied Azerbaijani territories, including Shusha and Khankendi, a “disproportionate” response. Why am I allowing this option? Because Borrel has shamelessly demonstrated his anti-Azerbaijani stance on more than one occasion. For example, Borrel made a provocative speech beginning with the words “solidarity with the Armenians of Karabakh” when a meeting of the UN Security Council was held on the initiative of France. This position defied justice, diplomacy and decency. It ignored the principle of territorial integrity of states and openly supported separatism.
And later, in his speech at the 25th Forum “EU – Human Rights NGOs”, he told a banal lie. “Look, for example, at what has happened in Azerbaijan and Armenia. A long-frozen conflict that was suddenly – I wouldn’t say resolved – but decisively resolved by a military intervention. 150,000 people were forced to move in one week. In one week. 150,000 people were forced to leave their homes and flee.” That was the brazen lie Borrel told at the time.
This was the speech of a person who was very sorry that Azerbaijan was able to restore its territorial integrity through the elimination of Armenian separatism. It was the speech of a lawyer of the Armenian side who was ready to artificially inflate the number of Armenians who lived illegally on our territory with passports of citizens of the occupying state, but eventually left peacefully, organised, of their own free will and in their own cars.
Now he has made another immoral statement, as we can see. The number and significance of these statements make one wonder whether it is necessary to introduce a measure of lies for a senior European official – a “borrell”.
Caliber.Az
