Russia and Belarus must stay out of the main events of world sport in 2023, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, defended today in the context of the military invasion of Ukraine.
“Sanctions against states and governments Russians and Belarusians It must and will remain firmly in force,” said the leader.
Likewise, the German assured that Ukrainian athletes will continue to count on the full solidarity of the Olympic Movement, revealing that the IOC hopes that the country can have a strong team at the Paris 2024 Games.
“We give our support and all our solidarity to the athletes and members of the Ukrainian Olympic community all over the world. In this new year, Ukrainian athletes can count on the full commitment of the IOC and the entire Olympic Movement in this solidarity”, he added.
Russia invaded Ukraine, from its territory and from Belarus, on February 24, three days after the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, violating the Olympic Truce, which begins a week before the start of the competition and ends one after the Paralympics.
The IOC sanctioned the two countries involved in the military aggression, so neither can organize or participate in an international event.
This month, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, expressed the wish that the athletes of the aggressor countries continue “complete isolationand that they could not return to the 2024 Olympic Games.
In the same way, Zelensky admitted to Bach his strong disagreement regarding the position of the Olympic and Paralympic committees in the United States, favorable to the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletesas long as they do not use the colors of their countries.
The Ukrainian official also expressed his displeasure at the presence of the president of the Russian Olympic committee at the IOC summit.
Source: Observadora
