Armenia yesterday pulled out of the 2012 Eurovision song contest that will be hosted by the country’s bitter enemy Azerbaijan, the ex-Soviet republic’s state broadcaster said.

We refuse to appear in a country that is well-known for mass killings and massacres of Armenians

“Armenia decided to refuse to participate in the 2012 edition of Eurovision in Baku,” Gagik Buniatyan, the director of Armenia’s Public Television station which would have broadcast the popular song competition, said.

However, he declined to explain the reasons behindthe decision.

The organiser of the European pop extravaganza, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), expressed disappointment over the “unfortunate” decision.

“We are truly disappointed by the broadcaster’s decision to withdraw from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest,” the contest’s executive supervisor, Jon Ola Sand, said.

“Despite the efforts of the EBU and the host broadcaster to ensure a smooth participation for the Armenian delegation in this year’s contest, circumstances beyond our control lead to this unfortunate decision.”

Azerbaijani and Armenian forces fought a war over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh in the 1990s which left some 30,000 people dead, but despite years of negotiations since the 1994 ceasefire, no final peace deal has yet been signed.

A group of Armenian pop singers launched a boycott campaign last month.