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On the eve of an IOC meeting, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia are putting pressure on the international body. In a joint statement, they oppose the reinstatement of Russian and Belarusian athletes in sports competitions.
No Russians or Belarusians at the Olympics or in international competitions. Poland, Ukraine and the three Baltic countries opposed the reinstatement of Russian and Belarusian athletes on Monday March 27, putting pressure on the IOC on the eve of a meeting.
“there is not a single reason to move away from the regime of exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes established by the IOC more than a year ago”, following the Russian invasion in Ukraine, estimated the five countries in their statement published on the websites of their respective ministries of Foreign Affairs.
Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland jointly insist: Russian and Belarusian athletes should not participate in international sports competitions. I urge all states to back this call. Keep the doors of sports shut for Russia’s war and propaganda. https://t.co/z6efBwwKtc
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 27, 2023
The IOC must clarify its position
Pressed to clarify its position, the IOC will discuss on Tuesday a return of Russians and Belarusians to international events, a possibility that is causing diplomatic tensions in the run-up to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, whose qualifications have started for certain disciplines.
For the Olympic organization, the ban cannot go on forever: “no athlete should be banned from competition on the sole basis of his passport”, hammers the IOC for several months, relying among other things on the opinion of two United Nations experts.
Faced with these concerns, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia consider that “it is not the nationality of the athletes that determines their role, but the fact that they are sponsored/supported by their governments or companies supporting the Russian regime, which is continuing its war of aggression against Ukraine, or even directly affiliated with the Russian military.”
Last Thursday, the German Fencing Federation gave up the organization of the Women’s Foil World Cup stage scheduled for early May in Tauberbischofsheim, judging that there remained “too many open questions” on the reinstatement of the excluded fencers.
A few days later, the Ukrainian Federation of the discipline announced that it would boycott any competition in which Russian and Belarusian athletes would be engaged, a threat that already hovers over the 2024 Olympics from Ukraine as from Poland and the Baltic countries.
With AFP
