Baku objects to ‘Artsakh’ song used by Armenian skaters at Winter Olympics

Azerbaijan has filed a complaint over an Armenian figure skating pair’s choice of music for their performance at the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, the country’s National Olympic Committee announced on Friday.

“It was brought to the attention of the International Olympic Committee that the term ‘Artsakh’ reflects the illegal and separatist policy pursued by Armenia for many years regarding the internationally recognized territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan,” the Azerbaijani Olympic Committee said in a statement.

It argued that the song choice violates the Olympic principle of neutrality and urged that “politics be kept out of sport,” while stopping short of making any formal demands regarding the Armenian athletes.

Figure skating allows athletes to perform routines using music of their own choosing. The Armenian pair, Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin, Armenia’s flag bearers at the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, announced last month that they would skate to Artsakh, a composition by Yerevan-born composer Ara Gevorgyan. Their performance is scheduled for February 15.

Azerbaijan will be represented in figure skating at the Milan Olympics by a single male skater in a separate event, meaning the two countries will not face each other in competition.