On April 14, 2023, the state flag of Azerbaijan Republic was demonstratively burned by an officially accredited person at the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championship in Yerevan, Armenia. Politicization of sport is definitely unacceptable and we condemn such an attack against our athletes and country. 

Such a hateful act at the ceremony attended by the Prime Minister of Armenia and cheering reaction by the Armenian public, presentation of the person who committed this action as a hero are obvious examples of ethnic hatred, racism, xenophobia and Azerbaijanophobia. It also completely contradicts the noble values and principles of sport that promote peace and mutual understanding between people. 

Due to psychological pressure, atmosphere of hatred in Armenia towards Azerbaijan and failure of the security system - participation of Azerbaijani athletes in the competition was considered impossible. Therefore we demanded from authorities to ensure an immediate and safe return of Azerbaijani athletes without any further delay and incidents. We ask all sports organizations to strongly condemn this barbaric act limiting the athletes participation within Paris 2024 Olympic Games qualifying event and call on the European Weightlifting Federation to impose sanctions against Armenian Republic. We consider that this case indicates the lack of capability of Armenia to ensure the security of athletes and host such international sport events.