Azernews.Az

BAKU – The Azerbaijani government has expressed deep concern over the distortion of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso’s recent remarks on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh on the EC website, warning that it could question the country’s relations with the European Union.

During his visit to Baku on January 13, Barroso told a news conference after talks with President Ilham Aliyev that the EU backs Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. "Let me also stress that the European Union of course supports the principle of territorial integrity of its partners including Azerbaijan. We are fully backing the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group and… we stand right to provide further support if agreed by all parties," Barroso said.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said Barroso’s media statement was not posted on the EC’s website in full, and the parts of his speech concerning Azerbaijan's territorial integrity had been removed and replaced with other remarks.

"Such an instance is disappointing and astonishing, and can call into serious question the relations, mutual confidence and cooperation with the European Union," the ministry said in a statement.

The statement noted that Azerbaijan was admitted to the United Nations, the OSCE and other international organizations with the borders that existed during the Soviet Union, and the country’s territorial integrity is recognized by all world countries, excluding Armenia. It termed the changes made to Barroso’s speech on the EC website as a step that could adversely affect the EU’s image and runs counter to the spirit of the EU-Azerbaijan cooperation agreement signed in 1999.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to the EU Emin Eyyubov said Thursday that he had held meetings with the EC officials and demanded an explanation.

"I met with the Commission’s political director yesterday and have written a letter to Barroso’s spokesman, demanding an explanation over the issue. The European Commission president is the head of an influential international organization. And if he comes to Azerbaijan and says something, we believe him. But reasons for retracting these words after he left, backing down or shying away from them remain incomprehensible for us."

Azerbaijani analysts say Barroso’s backtracking from his remarks indicates that the EC is influenced by double standards.

Arastun Orujlu, the head of East-West Research Center, reminded that the main purpose of Barroso’s visit to Baku was to sign an agreement on energy cooperation, referring to the joint declaration on gas supply for Europe under the Southern Gas Corridor project signed by the EC head and President Aliyev.

"For this sake, while in Baku he went outside the behind-the-scenes principles of the EU, making certain maneuvers [toward Azerbaijan]. Simply, since this is not envisaged by those EU principles, his statement about Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity was stricken off the record, which shows the hypocrisy in the EU’s attitude toward Azerbaijan."

MP Rasim Musabayov says the incident will have an impact on the EU-Azerbaijan gas agreements. He said that if Barroso is seeking to secure a deal with Azerbaijan on the Nabucco pipeline that will pump Caspian and Central Asian gas to Europe, he should realize that such a deal would pose a risk for Azerbaijan’s relations with neighboring Russia and Iran. Musabayov added that Barroso should comprehend that if he makes certain remarks while in Azerbaijan but then retracts them, Baku has every means possible to respond accordingly.