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Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states called on the International Olympic Committee to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the Olympic Games under a neutral flag. The corresponding statement was published by the Foreign Ministries of the five states before the next meeting of the IOC Executive Committee on March 28-30, BNS reports.
The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland express their regret that the IOC, on the basis of arguments about non-discrimination on the basis of citizenship, decided to change its previous position on the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international competitions.
“We want to emphasize that the role of athletes is determined not by their citizenship, but by the fact that they are sponsored and supported by authorities and companies that support the Kremlin regime – which continues its aggressive war against Ukraine, or they are directly connected to the Russian army,” the signatories note.
The statement recalls that as a result of Russian shelling, Ukrainian sports infrastructure is regularly affected, many Ukrainian athletes were forced to flee their cities because of the war and lost the opportunity to train.
“There is no reason to move away from the exclusion regime for Russian and Belarusian athletes, which the IOC activated immediately after the start of a full-scale war more than a year ago. We are absolutely convinced that now is not the time to open up the possibility of the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Olympic Games in any status…
We remind you that the Russian Federation and Belarus have a tool to return their athletes to the international sports community – this is to stop the aggressive war that Russia started with the cooperation of Belarus, and restore respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within internationally recognized borders,” the Polish Foreign Ministry notes. .
It should be reminded that earlier the Seimas of Lithuania approved a resolution calling for Russians and Belarusians not to be allowed to participate in the Olympic Games.
Back in February 2023, the governments of nearly 30 countries, including 2024 Olympic host France, called on the International Olympic Committee to bar Russians and Belarusians from participating in the games in Paris due to problems with the clarity of the “neutrality” of the athletes.
Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu has applied to the IOC before, after the IOC announced that at the 2024 Olympic Games, Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to enter the international sports arena under certain conditions.
“It is imperative that one of the largest and most influential sports organizations in the world clearly state that the international sports community condemns the aggression and violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. There should be no place for Russian and Belarusian athletes on the international sports arena,” Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said.
The post Five countries called on the IOC to prevent athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in the Olympic Games first appeared on gazeta.ee.