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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, POLITICO reported.

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.

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.”