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Turkish athletes dedicate medals to Azerbaijan after flag burning incident

Azerbaijan had withdrawn from the European Weightlifting Championships taking place in Armenia, after its flag was set on fire during the opening ceremony.

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Azerbaijan's athletes returned to Baku without being able to compete.

Azerbaijan's president and first lady have thanked two Turkish weightlifters for dedicating their medals to the country during the 2023 European Weightlifting Championships in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

In an official statement on Sunday, President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva congratulated Cansu Bektas and Gamze Altun on winning three gold and one silver medal, respectively.

Aliyev and Aliyeva said the move "showed high skill, determination, and will to wave the flag of Türkiye" on the global stage while also playing the Turkish national anthem made "all the people of Azerbaijan happy."

On the dedication of Bektas and Altun's victories to Azerbaijan, they said this "proved once again that where Azerbaijan is not, Türkiye always represents us and supports our rightful cause. This is another manifestation of the unbreakable Azerbaijan-Türkiye brotherhood."

As Yerevan cannot guarantee the safety of our athletes, the Azerbaijan delegation will not compete and is expected to return home. Armenia should ensure the safe return of our athletes, but now they are confined to their hotel without access to media.
— Farid Gayibov (@faridgayibov) April 15, 2023

Flag burning

During the opening ceremony of the championships in Yerevan on Friday, the Azerbaijan flag was set on fire.

Designer Aram Nikolyan burned the Azerbaijani flag on stage and took it out of the hall during the opening ceremony. He was detained and escorted to one of Yerevan's police stations but was freed shortly.

As a result of this act, Azerbaijan announced that it withdrew from the European Weightlifting Championship after the country's flag was burned by an officially accredited person at the opening ceremony of the competition.

"We call on the international community and international sports institutions to strongly condemn this barbaric act. We also call on the European Weightlifting Federation to impose sanctions against Armenia," said Farid Gayibov, Azerbaijan's minister of youth and sports, on Twitter.

SOURCE: AA