Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Issues Statement

The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia considers the decision of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan to suspend the participation of Azerbaijani athletes in the European Weightlifting Championship held in Yerevan from April 15-23 to be concerning from a sports ethics perspective.

“The Republic of Armenia has initially ensured all security measures, and there have been no issues related to the safety of the weightlifters arriving in Yerevan for the competition, and there could not have been any. The incident that occurred during the opening ceremony, which was resolved very quickly, has no connection to the safety of the athletes or the provision for their normal competitions. All necessary conditions have been fully ensured. The Republic of Armenia remains committed to meeting its obligations to the International Weightlifting Federation and reaffirms its readiness to hold the 2023 European Championship at a high level,” the statement reads.

It is noteworthy that an incident occurred during the opening ceremony of the weightlifting European Championship. Designer and stylist Aram Nikolyan unexpectedly rushed to the stage, snatched the Azerbaijani flag from the hand of the female flag-bearer, and burned it in front of everyone.

Furthermore, Azerbaijani athletes are returning home and will not participate in the championship.