Ukraine's Foreign Minister on IOC decision: Kremlin will weaponise Russian and Belarusian athletes

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has urged Ukraine's partners to condemn the International Olympic Committee's decision to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete in the 2024 Olympics as neutrals, calling it shameful. Source: Kuleba on Twitter (X), as reported by European Pravda Quote: "The Kremlin will use every Russian and Belarusian athlete as a weapon in its propaganda warfare."

The IOC essentially gave Russia the green light to weaponize the Olympics.

Because the Kremlin will use every Russian and Belarusian athlete as a weapon in its propaganda warfare. I urge all partners to strongly condemn this shameful decision, which undermines Olympic principles. https://t.co/7ASNB2aGIp

-- Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) December 8, 2023

Details: Kuleba called on all Ukraine's partners to strongly condemn "this shameful decision, which undermines Olympic principles". Background:

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided that individual athletes from Russia and Belarus will be eligible to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games as neutrals.

Teams will not take part.

Athletes are also not eligible to compete if they have committed to serve in the Belarusian or Russian armed forces or special services.
Matvis Bidnyi, Ukraine's Minister of Youth and Sport, said the IOC executive committee's decision to allow individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete as neutrals in the 2024 Olympics is irresponsible and urged the IOC to finally take off its rose-coloured glasses concerning the aggressor state.
In February, the governments of nearly 30 countries, including France, which is hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics, called on the IOC to ban athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in the Olympics because of issues with the clarity of their "neutrality".
On 26 July, the foreign ministers of the three Baltic states asked the IOC not to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete in the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, even as neutrals.

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