Azerbaijan’s Eurovision delegation responds to reports of possible withdrawal over Israel, APA reports.
Turab Teymurov, head of media for Azerbaijan’s Eurovision delegation, stated that reports claiming Azerbaijan would withdraw from the contest if Israel does not participate are not true.
“Whether it is Israel or any other country, we do not involve ourselves in politics,” Turab Teymurov emphasized.
The reports appeared in some Turkish media outlets and social media accounts under headlines suggesting that Azerbaijan would skip Eurovision 2026 if Israel is absent.
Last week, APA reported that during an event held in Dubrovnik on September 15–16, six countries—Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands—officially stated that they would withdraw if Israel is allowed to participate. However, no discussions were held on this matter during the event, and neither Azerbaijan nor other countries made any statements regarding the proposal.
The participation of Israel will be put to a vote by EBU member countries at the EBU General Assembly in Geneva on December 2–4.
Thus, the decision will be made by the EBU members, not the contest organizers. For this reason, the deadline for withdrawing from the contest without financial penalties has been extended to December 10.
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