At the same time, the IOC refused to return the athletes of the aggressor country to the competitions.
Minister of Youth and Sports Vadim Gutzeit announced the continuation of the sanctions of the International Olympic Committee against Russian and Belarusian athletes.
“Thomas Bach says that sport is about uniting. But all the recommendations in action they have not changed. So we will not “unite” with Russians and Belarusians in joint sports competitions.”
At the same time, Russia is trying to work in the information field in order to return to competitions under a neutral flag. However, Ukrainian efforts do not allow athletes from the Russian Federation to return to tournaments under different auspices and federations.
“They are looking for all the ways to return to the international level. We understand that next year will be qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Therefore, the Russians are doing everything possible to return under a neutral flag or the flags of other countries. This is unacceptable for us,” Gutzeit said.
“Now there is a similar sports-diplomatic war going on. We are working on and so far we are doing well: for almost 8 months we have not seen Russians and Belarusians at competitions. For them, this is a real blow. We are holding this blow.”
Earlier, the IOC upheld sanctions against Russian athletes. At international competitions there should be no Russian flags, colors and symbols, international federations should not hold competitions in Russia.
In turn, the president of the International Boxing Association, Russian Umar Kremlev, called for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be returned to all sports competitions.
In February, the IOC recommended that international federations remove the Russians from the competition due to Russia’s full-scale military aggression against Ukraine.
The war began early on the morning of February 24, when Russia launched a massive invasion. Ukrainian resistance to Russian aggression continues for the 223rd day.
Source: Sportarena
