Azerbaijan demands apology from France over biased Olympic coverage

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has called for an official apology from France following a controversial broadcast by the France2 TV channel.

The broadcast, which included statements deemed unacceptable by Azerbaijan, led to a formal protest letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada said, Caliber.Az reports.

In response, the IOC apologized for the remarks, acknowledging that they do not align with the principles and values the IOC promotes through sport and the Olympic Games.

"We believe that the biased statements voiced on the official state channel of France and contributing to the politicization of the Olympic Games were made deliberately and are part of a smear campaign against Azerbaijan," Hajizada stated.

Given that France is hosting the Olympic Games, Hajizada emphasized that Azerbaijan expects a formal apology from the French government.

"Since the party responsible for this incident is France, which is hosting the Olympic Games, we expect an apology from this country and demand that such steps against Azerbaijan will not be repeated in the future," the spokesman said.