It may just be an annual singing contest to some, but Russia is certainly taking the Eurovision Song Contest seriously.
Moscow’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday met his Azerbaijani counterpart to ask why the Caucasus country had not voted for Russia during last Saturday’s contest.
The former Soviet republic gave Russia ‘nul points’, provoking fury in Moscow.
Azerbaijan’s foreign minister, Elmar Mammadyarov, said the country’s mobile phone operators reported that Russia’s Dina Garipova came second in the local vote, which would have given her 10 points.
However, when the announcement was made on live television, there were no points for Russia.
Lavrov called it an ‘outrageous incident’ and said the points were stolen from Garipova.
Garipova finished fifth overall on Saturday, 17 points behind fourth-placed Norway, so 10 points would not have made a difference in the ranking.
But Russians have been passionate about the pan-European song contest for more than a decade.
Dima Bilan’s win in 2008 was treated as a major national triumph.
Mammadyarov said officials are investigating the incident and are now seeking access to the results of the vote. It was unclear where any mistake or vote manipulation might have occurred.
Russia gave the Azerbaijani entry the maximum 12 points.
There have been many complaints in recent years that voting has become a political exercise rather than one which judges the best tune.
Earlier this week Germany complained it was being punished for its stance on economics in southern Europe.
Germany finished 21st out of 26 and only five countries voted for their entry.
source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk
Tags: Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister, Russian
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