Armenian designer Aram Nikolyan, who set the Azerbaijani flag on fire in Yerevan on Friday, defended his move in a video posted on social media on Saturday.

He grabbed the flag from its bearer and set it alight on the stage at the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championships on Friday evening. The man was briefly detained after the incident.

The designer stresses he is not affiliated with any political force and has his own viewpoints.

"I just wanted to prevent the Azerbaijani flag from being raised in the Armenian capital, Yerevan,” Nikolyan said in the video.

“If there are people who believe that I should not have done that, let them hang the Azerbaijani flag in their homes," he added, expressing gratitude to his supporters.