sports policy
Russia criticizes IOC after waiving invitation to the Olympics
Russian President’s Spokesman: Dmitry Peskov. photo
© Alexei Nikolsky/Pool Sputnik Kremlin/AP/dpa
For the time being, the IOC will not invite the National Olympic Committees from Russia and Belarus to the Summer Games in Paris. Now there is a reaction from Moscow.
“Of course we think that our athletes should have the right to compete in international competitions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
Russia will continue to work with the International Olympic Committee to ensure that its athletes can take part in the games. A decision on this is not expected until after the summer. Peskov also criticized that athletes from Belarus had not received an invitation either.
Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia, had repeatedly demanded that athletes from both countries be excluded. Kiev also sees Belarus as a warring party because the neighboring country gave up its territory to Russian troops to attack Ukraine.
The IOC traditionally invites the 200 or so National Olympic Committees to participate a year before the next Games. The deadline for the summer games in Paris is July 26th. The IOC announced on Thursday that Russia and Belarus were not receiving any invitations for the time being. A decision will be made on whether athletes from both countries will participate in the Olympics when the time is right, according to the Executive Committee’s recent deliberations.
The IOC has recommended to its member federations the re-admission of individual starters from Russia and Belarus under certain conditions. However, the attitude among the international professional associations differs.