Azernews.Az

The European Broadcasting Union fined Armenia for its refusal to participate in the Eurovision international song contest, which will be held in late May in Azerbaijan, Armenia Today reported.

The EBU`s resolution says that Yerevan should pay the full fee for participation in the contest. In addition, as a penalty, Armenia has to pay an additional fine equal to 50 percent of that amount. It is also noted that the Public Television of Armenia will have to show the finals of the song contest live.

If the country fails to meet the EBU decision, it will be excluded from participating in the Eurovision contest in 2013. The EBU stressed that the decision on the penalty was issued in accordance with the rules of the contest and reasons why Armenia refused to participate in the contest were not included.

Armenia officially refused to take part in Eurovision on March 7. Earlier, a group of Armenian artists sent an open letter to the Public Television of the country, which called for a boycott of the contest. The reason for this was the death of a soldier on the contact line of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, who was presumably killed by an Azerbaijani sniper. Later it turned out that the soldier was shot by a fellow serviceman.

The final competition will be held on May 26.