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Armenia Pulls Out of Eurovision in Azerbaijan
Armenia has decided to pull out of the 2012 Eurovision song contest in Azerbaijan, its state broadcaster said on Wednesday, underscoring tensions over the “disputed” enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, according to a Reuters report dated today.
"Despite the fact that the Azeri authorities have given security guarantees to all participating countries, several days ago the Azeri president made a statement that enemy number one for Azerbaijan was Armenians," Armenia's Public Television said in a statement.
"There is no logic to sending a participant to a country where he will be met as an enemy," the statement said.
Azeri officials were not immediately available for the comment.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) - organizer of the song contest - expressed disappointment over Armenia's decision.
"We are truly disappointed by the broadcaster's decision to withdraw from this year's Eurovision Song Contest," Jon Ola Sand, the contest's executive supervisor, said in a statement published on the EBU website.
"Despite the efforts of the EBU and the Host Broadcaster to ensure a smooth participation for the Armenian delegation in this year's contest, circumstances beyond our control lead to this unfortunate decision."
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