POLITICS
US Boston Herald portal posts article on conditions created for Armenian athletes during first European Games
Baku, June 17, AZERTAC
US Boston Herald web portal has posted an article highlighting the conditions created for the Armenian athletes to participate in the inaugural European Games as an example of tolerance in the country.
Headlined “IOC's Bach praises European Games harmony” the article says: “Azerbaijan — International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach praised the inaugural European Games for promoting harmony between peoples Sunday, even as tensions between host nation Azerbaijan and neighboring Armenia threatened to overshadow the sporting action.
In a statement, Bach praised the sight of Russian and Ukrainian athletes competing together despite the conflict in eastern Ukraine, adding that "we see Armenian athletes alongside their hosts from Azerbaijan ... This is the power of sport to bring people together."
Armenia sent athletes to the games despite a long-running conflict with the host nation, but they have been booed on many occasions by the home crowds, starting with Friday's opening ceremony.
Sunday saw Armenian wrestler Migran Arutyunyan jeered as he lost the men's 66-kilogram Greco-Roman wrestling final to Russia's Artyom Surkov.
Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region and some adjacent territory have been under the control of Armenian soldiers and local Armenian forces since a 1994 cease-fire that ended a six-year war. There have been clashes on the border on a number of occasions over the last year.