Azad Rahimov: "Azerbaijani government guaranteed the safety of Armenian judokas"

Baku. 6 September. REPORT.AZ/ Azerbaijani government guaranteed the safety of Armenian judokas in the world championship to be held in Baku, Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov told TASS, Report informs.

He noted that Armenian side has got a guarantee on safety from the Azerbaijani state ahead of the competitions: "This time, all guarantees have been provided. A relevant document on the guarantee of safety and visa support has been submitted on behalf of the state. A copy of the letter has been sent to the International Judo Federation (IJF) and European Judo Union (EJU). We have fulfilled all commitments. The reason for such a situation is completely incomprehensible."

The minister noted that the Armenian delegation came to Azerbaijan for the 2007 FILA Wrestling World Championships for the first time: ‘An agreement on the guarantee of safety had been signed with the participation of the International Olympic Committee at that time. Thereafter, I visited Yerevan ahead of the European Youth Judo Championship. We signed a relevant document allowing our judokas to participate in the competitions at that time too."

Rahimov further said that the state sent a letter of guarantee to Armenia to save time for visits and signing an agreement: ‘Thus, 23 Armenian judokas participated in the first European Games in Baku. They had said they were pleased with everything."

The Armenian Ministry of Sport earlier stated that they will not participate in the championship because the Azerbaijani side allegedly refused to guarantee safety on the official level. EJU President Sergey Soloveychik told TASS that the problem can be solved, stressing, however, that little time is left.

The 2018 World Judo Championships will be held at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan, between 20 and 27 September 2018.

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