Russia on Saturday condemned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call to exclude Russian athletes from the Paris 2024 Olympics as “totally unacceptable.”
“An attempt to dictate the conditions for the participation of athletes in international competitions is absolutely unacceptable (…) Currently, we are witnessing an undisguised desire to destroy the unity of international sports,” said Russian sports minister Oleg Matytsin, quoted by Russian news agencies. .
On Friday, during a video conference with ministers of sports from several countries, Zelensky considered that the presence of Russian athletes at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, even under a neutral flag, would be “a sign of violence and impunity.”
“They should take care of sports in their countries and do everything so that sport is an ambassador of peace and builds bridges between peoples,” the Russian minister replied.
Ukraine is categorically against the possible presence of Russians and Belarusians in Paris 2024, as planned, namely by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and threatens to boycott the competition.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from most sporting events.
At the end of January, the IOC proposed a roadmap for the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes under a neutral flag, on the condition that “they do not actively support the war in Ukraine.”
French President Emanuel Macron, whose country will host the Games in 2024, said he would perform in person “in the summer”.