BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. The burning of the Azerbaijani flag at the international sporting event in Yerevan, attended by the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and the release of the person who burned the flag, once again showed the essence of Armenia, the Chairman of the "Sports Journalists of Azerbaijan" Public Union Azer Ismayilov said at an event held by the union, Trend reports.
"We hope that international organizations will take serious measures in connection with the incident in Yerevan," he added.
The union member Sanan Shafizade noted that Armenia is not capable of holding such competitions.
"At the competitions in Baku in 2015, the safety of the Armenian participants was fully ensured, and after the competitions they moved freely around Baku, and now the level of the safety of athletes ensured by Armenia is shameful. This country hasn’t taken any security measures. Relevant international organizations must take serious action in connection with the incident," he said.
Deputy Chairman of "Idman Azerbaijan” TV channel Vugar Nazarov said that it was a planned provocation, and the immediate recall of Azerbaijani athletes was the right step.
On April 14, during the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championship in Yerevan, a provocation was committed against Azerbaijan. An Armenian designer and stylist Aram Nikolyan ran onto the stage, took the Azerbaijani flag from the hands of the flag bearer, and burned it in front of everyone.
Previously, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan issued a joint statement saying that a decision had been made to return Azerbaijani athletes from Yerevan.
