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."