“Thank you, have a nice day,” he was quoted by media as saying to journalists at the end of press conference. “I will now see the president of Azerbaijan, so the nice part of my day is over.”

Although, Mr Aliyev and Mr Juncker did meet up, releasing a joint statement afterwards about strong relations, it was clear that the tone had been set. An Azerbaijani official declined to comment on Mr Juncker’s remarks.

Mr Aliyev also met with Federica Mogherini, the EU’s chief diplomat, and Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council. After these meetings both sides released friendly statements.

Mr Tusk said both that he had raised human rights with Mr Aliyev and that he also wanted to improve Azerbaijan-EU relations.

“We want to upgrade our relationship and develop its full potential through a new bilateral agreement,” he said.

A few hours later, though, there was another set back when Azerbaijan cancelled a meeting with Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament. In the build-up to Mr Aliyev’s visit to Brussels, human rights groups had signed a petition calling for Europe to push harder for rights in Azerbaijan.

The European Parliament has been particularly vocal in its criticism of Azerbaijan’s crackdown on human rights activists and journalists who criticise the government.

ENDS