Political analyst: Azerbaijanis will disgrace themselves if they attack Armenians (video)
Azerbaijan has paid huge sums of money to host the first European Games in Baku. In the given circumstances, international organizations will turn a blind eye to all other factors, says political analyst Stepan Grigoryan. “Money always plays a big role and that is the reason why the financial status of the country is taken into consideration while taking such important decisions. If we consider the issue from the perspective of human rights, then it's obvious that there should have been many questions concerning the choice of Azerbaijan, but as you know that FIFA and Olympic Committee pay attention to many other which are called corruption,” Mr Grigoryan told A1+. Speaking about Armenia’s participation in the sporting event, the political analyst said similar sporting and cultural events may partially contribute to the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “The governments of the two countries do not trust each other. The leaders of the countries do not trust each other either. Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan are very strained, which is quite comprehensible: the Karabakh conflict cannot be resolved so easily, and the tension can be somewhat reduced through similar activities. In this regard, I think that Armenia took a right decision by sending athletes to Baku to participate in the first European Games,” says the political analyst. In reply to the question whether public consciousness in Azerbaijan has matured to the level as to differentiate between sporting, cultural and political issues, Mr Grigoryan said, “No, I do not think that they can differentiate so easily different issues. Anyway, contact with Armenians in Baku may bring changes in their attitudes, as every day Azerbaijanis hear on TV that Armenians are their enemy, they kill Azerbaijanis, occupied their lands. But after seeing Armenians in their country and understanding that Armenians are normal people, they may change their attitudes,” he said. In this context, the political analyst excludes that Azerbaijanis may attack or use physical violence on Armenian athletes otherwise Azerbaijan will disgrace itself all over the world.
