Azerbaijani Culture and Tourism Minister: Russia's support for Azerbaijani duo at Eurovision-2011 is very valuable

Azerbaijani Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfaz Garayev is obliged to Russia for its support of the Azerbaijani duo Eldar & Nigar, who won "Eurovision-2011" song contest in Düsseldorf. "Russia's support was very valuable," Garayev said in an interview with Itar-Tass in Las Vegas. He participates in the 11th Global Travel and Tourism Summit in Las Vegas (Nevada).

Eldar and Nigar brought Azerbaijan the first victory at Eurovision contest, leaving competitors from 42 countries behind and scoring 221 points in the final voting.
Garayev added that during the voting and after summarizing the results in Düsseldorf, he received many calls from Russia with expressions of support and congratulations with the success of the national duo. "Russia has supported Azerbaijani singers by its votes. I think that it is natural, as our cultures are very close," Garayev said.
The Azerbaijani duo Eldar and Nigar (Ell& Nikki) who represented the country with the song "Running Scared" won Eurovision-2011 with 221 points. Italy / Raphael Gualazzi - "Madness Of Love" (189 points) ranked second, while the third was Sweden / Eric Saade - "Popular" (185 points). Azerbaijan received the highest score - 12 points from Russia, 10 points from Ukraine and 8 points from Greece.