Ministry of Youth and Sports, National Olympic Committee issue statement on provocation against Azerbaijan at Paris 2024 Olympics

Azerbaijan Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Olympic Committee have issued a statement regarding the provocation against the country at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Azernews reports.

"On July 26, during the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, the capital of France, the reporter of France-2, French national television channel, demonstrated a discriminatory attitude during the parade of Azerbaijani and Armenian athletes, accusing Azerbaijan of clashes with Armenia. The reporter also described Armenia as a friend of France and noted that this year would be remembered for the Armenian people as the fall of Nagorno-Karabakh at the hands of the Azerbaijani army," the statement said.

"This is a de facto violation of the Fundamental Principles of the Olympic Charter. These principles are recognized and have been supported in recent years by several United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolutions, including the explicit “Recognition of the Fundamental Principles of the Olympic Charter” (A/RES/78/10). The charter clearly states that “the mission of the IOC is to promote the Olympism throughout the world and to lead the Olympic Movement, and oppose any political or commercial abuse of sport and athletes."

"Regarding the incident, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan have issued an official protest letter to the International Olympic Committee. The letter stated that such disrespectful attitude by a state TV channel towards Azerbaijan represents a blatant violation of the Olympic Charter. Such propaganda is contrary to the spirit of the games and serves to undermine peace efforts between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Therefore, the IOC has been asked to take a firm stance against the politicization of sports during the Paris-2024 Olympics and issue a public statement of protest to the French government, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, as well as the aforementioned TV channel," the statement noted.