Turkey's EU minister advises Armenia on Eurovision

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

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Turkey would rather Armenia withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh than the Eurovision song contest, Turkey’s European Union Minister Egemen Bağış said today.

“Turkey would prefer Armenia to pull out of Nagorno-Karabakh, rather than from the Eurovision song contest. I think they should revise their decision,” Bağış said. Armenia announced last week it would not be competing in this May’s Eurovision song contest, to be held in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. 

Speaking at a joint press conference with Can Bonomo, the singer who will represent Turkey in this year’s contest, at the European Ministry’s office in Ortaköy, Bağış said that competing with an English-language song was the right choice. “I like the song ‘Love Me Back’ very much. English is a universal language so it is the right choice to send Turkey’s message to the international community,” Bağış said.

Armenia’s state broadcaster announced the country was pulling out of the 2012 Eurovision song contest, saying there was “no logic to sending a participant to a country where he will be met as an enemy.” 

Bağış said Azerbaijan had earned the right to host this year’s contest. “It is all technical. When a country wins the contest one year, it is assigned to host the next year’s contest. Azerbaijan is a United Nations member country. No country has the right to condemn it.”