BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. The burning of the Azerbaijani flag shows that Armenia is not able to hold international sports competitions, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Olympic Committee (NOC) said in a joint statement, Trend reports.
"We call on the international community, international sports organizations to strongly condemn this barbaric act. We also call on the European Weightlifting Federation to impose sanctions against Armenia. We believe that what happened testifies to Armenia's inability to hold international sports competitions and ensure the safety of athletes," the statement reads.
On April 14, 2023, at the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championship in Yerevan, the flag of Azerbaijan was defiantly burned by an officially accredited person.