Пресс-секретарь МИД Азербайджана Лейла Абдуллаева
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry about Mkhitaryan�s Refusal to Come to Baku and Yerevan�s Position
Baku / 22.05.19 / Turan: Press Secretary of the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan Leyla Abdullayeva commented on the statements of the Armenian Foreign Ministry regarding the refusal of the footballer of the British FC Arsenal to come to Baku for the Europa League final.
"Azerbaijan has given guarantees that it will fully ensure the safety of all players who will participate in the final game of the UEFA Europa League in Baku on May 29 of this year, including G. Mkhitaryan, player of the Arsenal football club, as well as all the fans," said Abdullaeva.
"I personally, as a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have repeatedly stated that Azerbaijan does not identify sport with politics. Azerbaijan has hosted significant sporting events for many times; many sports competitions have been held so far in the country's capital, including the participation of athletes of Armenian origin.
The statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry on the presence of factors that prevent a player of the Arsenal football club of Armenian descent from visiting Baku testifies to attempts to turn sport into an instrument of politics due to internal political problems. The participation of the Armenian Foreign Ministry in such a game is only regrettable.
Alas, this step clearly demonstrated that Armenia is not focused on preparing its people for peace, as stated by the co-chairs of the Minsk Group. Unfortunately, Armenia uses a player of FC Arsenal of Armenian origin for its provocative purposes. It also demonstrated that first of all it is the Armenian people who need to be prepared for peace. It is incredible and absurd that Armenia, a mono-ethnic country that has conducted ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, accuses Azerbaijan of racism. The coexistence of various religious and ethnic groups in an atmosphere of peace and tolerance in Azerbaijan is well known to the whole world," said the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.-02D-
Politics
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Armenia is not against the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, but does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue now. "In the context of peace, we consider it possible to make a decision on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. When peace is an established fact, the existence of such a format may raise questions," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference today. "The whole question is about the timing, we need to understand how effectively and correctly to turn such topics into a subject of discussion right now," the Armenian Prime Minister added.
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He expressed his willingness to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the border between the two countries. "A meeting with Ilham Aliyev could take place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am open to such a format," Pashinyan said at a press conference today. According to Pashinyan, Armenia recently presented another proposal for a peace treaty to Azerbaijan.
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On August 31, Azerbaijan observes a "day of silence" before the Sunday’s early parliamentary elections for the unicameral Milli Majlis. All electoral campaigning is prohibited 24 hours before the voting. The early elections were initiated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party. This decision was motivated by the overlap of the scheduled elections in November with the global UN forum - the COP20 climate conference taking place in Baku.
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On August 30, at approximately 22:55, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant in Metsamor was disconnected from the country's power grid, as reported by the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The shutdown was caused by a lightning strike, which triggered the plant's safety systems to switch the station to a safe shutdown mode. Currently, the plant's staff is working on restarting the facility.
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