02.02.2012
Заявление Левона Ароняна
LEVON ARONIAN’S STATEMANT
February 2, 2012
To:
FIDE PRESIDENT KIRSAN ILYUMZHINOV
FIDE
PRESIDENTIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Dear
Mr. President
Dear
Presidential Board Members
I
learnt from the media, that the Chess Federations of Azerbaijan and Bulgaria had
submitted an application on holding the
Candidates Tournament of World Championship.
I’d
like to inform you that general atmosphere in Azerbaijan and continuous tensions between our
countries make my participation in such high ranked tournament in Azerbaijan
impossible. A responsible and important event, such as the
Candidates Tournament, requires peace of mind and
special concentration. No circumstances, if they are not
chess-related, should prevent the grandmaster from
demonstrating all of his skills. Unfortunately, at this
moment no Armenian can find favorable or adequate psychological
atmosphere in Azerbaijan,
whereas that is something absolutely necessary. In my opinion, all the
participants should be in equal conditions, which is impossible in case of
holding the tournament in Azerbaijan. Security
guaranties and any kind of additional support cannot be a remedy.
Taking
into account the above-mentioned considerations, I inform you
that I would be delighted to take part in Candidates Tournament any
other country, but my participation in the candidates tournament in Azerbaijan
has to be excluded.
I hope
you will take into account these considerations while discussing
the issue of the tournament venue at the Presidential Board
Meeting.
Thank
you in advance and best regards,
GM Levon Aronian