Azerbaijani athlete foils provocative attempt of his Armenian colleague

The Swiss city of Lausanne has hosted the International Athletes' Forum (IAF) of the International Olympic Committee.

As the Azerbaijan Athletics Federation told Trend, the forum was also attended by the Chairman of the Athletes Commission, silver medalist of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics and the World Championship, European judo champion Rustam Orujov.

On the first day of the forum, a number of issues were discussed, including those pertaining to the performances of athletes from Russia and Belarus.

At the same time, there were some provocations from the Armenian side. Armenian athlete Arsen Julfalakyan, speaking at the event, said that his country, “in a state of war,” currently hosts “125 thousand” “refugees.”

Rustam Orujov immediately intervened to stop the provocative speech. He stated that 30 years ago the Armenians started the war and the Azerbaijani lands were occupied.

“We have never set our sights on anyone’s lands. Azerbaijan has created conditions for free passage through the Lachin border crossing point for people of Armenian origin who voluntarily leave Garabagh and go to Armenia. No violence is used against them. Azerbaijan has stated its desire to reintegrate the Armenian residents of Garanagh and is providing them with food and medical assistance. At the same time, in the 1990s, Armenian separatists committed unprecedented atrocities against our people. Our compatriots were killed with particular cruelty, under torture, and subjected to genocide,” he said.

After Orujov's words, the Armenian athlete was forced to change his tone, noting that he meant something else, i.e. “sports should not be mixed with politics, but the fight should be waged on the tatami.”