Ministers of Sport of different countries demand ban of Russian and Belorussian athletes on participation in international competitions

Ministers of Sport of 25 Member States of the European Union, as well as Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lichtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Great Britain and the USA demand to exclude Russian and Belorussian athletes from international competitions.  This was reported by Vadym Hutsayt, the Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, who also joined the initiative and signed a relevant letter.  The Ministers have appealed to the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach. 

"[I] once again emphasised our unwavering conviction: until the Russian aggression in Ukraine is over, the athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus have no right to participate in international competition in any status, even a neutral one," says Vadym Hutsayt. 

Earlier, the Olympic and Paralympic Committee of the United States has supported the idea of letting the Russian and Belorussian athletes participate in the Summer Olympics of 2024 in Paris, under the condition that they will not compete under the flags of their countries or wearing national colours, reports The Wall Street Journal.  Last week, the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, has also asserted that he wants Russian and Belorussian athletes to participate in the Olympic Games in Paris, even if the war in Ukraine goes on. Bach's statement has contrasted drastically in comparison to the stance the organisation had at the beginning of this year, when the International Olympic Committee has called on sport federations to ban Russian and Belorussian athletes from participating in international competitions due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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