Baku

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov was one of the few EU leaders to attend the official opening ceremony of the First European Games in Azerbaijan on Friday.

Most EU leaders decided to boycott the opening in Baku due to the poor human rights record of the country, which has been accused of gross violations.

Greco-Roman wrestler Virgil Munteanu (59 kg) was the first Romanian athlete to compete on Saturday morning in the 1st edition in Baku of the European Games.

In the first round, Munteanu defeated Hungarian Csongor Knipli, then moved on to defeat Turkish Fatih Ucuncu and lose the quarter-final to Moldova's Victor Ciobanu.

The first European Games opened June 12 in Azerbaijan's capital Baku with an extravagant opening ceremony featuring Lady Gaga.
                   

The first ever edition of the European Olympic Games began on Friday in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, with the participation of about 6,000 athletes, including 147 Romanians. The event, featuring 20 sports, will end on June 28.

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met in Baku on Friday.

They discussed "joint projects that should be realized by the two countries' businesspeople."

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov met with the President Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev Friday.

During the meeting held at the Presidential palace in the capital Baku, Borisov and Aliev discussed the opportunities for transportation and delivery of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is leaving on a visit to Azerbaijan, where he will attend the official opening ceremony of the First European Games in Baku on Friday.

As part of his visit, Borisov is also to hold a meeting with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the government's press service reports.

Work on joint large-scale energy projects is expected to be on the agenda of a meeting between the presidents of Russia and Turkey in Baku on 13 June, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an will set off for Baku on June 12 at the invitation of his Azerbaijani counterpart, ?lham Aliyev, to attend the opening of the first European Games.

Azerbaijan has given the Organisation for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Europe one month to halt its operations in the former Soviet republic, months before a parliamentary election this autumn, the OSCE said on June 9.