Ukraine will not back down and could decide to boycott the Paris 2024 Olympic Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes were invited. This possibility was mentioned Thursday by the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, who said she wanted Russian athletes to participate under a neutral banner. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its part drew a roadmap on Wednesday to reintegrate them into world sport.
“Such a situation is unacceptable for our State.“Reacted Ukrainian Sports Minister Vadym Goutzeit on Thursday. According to him, kyiv is currently pressuring the IOC and other international organizations to obtain the banning of Russians and Belarusians from the Olympics. “Our position remains unchanged: as long as the war continues in Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian athletes should not participate in international competitions“, continued Mr. Goutzeït on Facebook.
“If we are not heard, I do not exclude the possibility that we boycott and refuse to participate in the Olympic Games“, he added. On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had already demanded from his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that the Russians be banned from the next Olympics, scheduled in less than two years.
The International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday that “no athlete should be barred from competition solely on the basis of their passport“, after consulting representatives of athletes, international federations and national Olympic committees. Behind this proclamation of principle, a series of behind-the-scenes maneuvers were undertaken last fall to bring Russians and Belarusians back into the fold of Olympism. , excluded from most international competitions since the invasion of Ukraine.
Several countries, including Great Britain and Denmark, opposed on Thursday the initiative of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to find a “way” in order to allow Russian athletes to participate in the Paris Olympics in 2024.
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