President of the World Athletics Association (World Athletics) Sebastien Coe is in dialogue with Russia, but the situation with the admission of national athletes to international departures remains the same, said the world champion in the 110 meters hurdles Sergei Shubenkov .
Russian athletes due to the abolition of the All-Russian Athletics Federation (VFLA) from 2015 can only participate in international competitions in a neutral status. In March, World Athletics announced that the Russians had been denied the right to participate in tournaments under the organization’s auspices due to the situation in Ukraine.
— Yes, we met Kou in 2020. I wouldn’t say there was a feeling that we were talking with someone who took an active anti-Russian stance. His position is as much anti-Russian as it is pro-British. Coe is primarily concerned with protecting his own interests and the interests of his organization. And that automatically means protecting the interests of WADA and the IOC.
In a way, I think it became useful. Coe certainly had no heartburn with us personally. He is a crafty politician. With one hand he punishes, with the other he shows mercy, here he forbids, here he distributes statutes. And it turns out you can’t dig from just any side. It seems that he is not against Russia: he makes contact, some commissions are working. But in fact, nothing changes,” Shubenkov said in an interview with RT.
RT
Source : MatchTV
