The governments of 34 countries, including host nation France of the upcoming Olympics, have called on the International Olympic Committee to exclude Russia and Belarus from the 2024 Olympics unless the leaders of the Games release a clear and actionable plan for athletes who will compete as neutrals.. POLITICO writes about this after reading the content of the appeal.
The IOC announced that it would develop an algorithm for competitions under neutral flags for Russian and Belarusian athletes. This move caused outrage in Kyiv and the same reaction among Ukraine's allies..
In a statement released on Monday, 34 countries noted the link between sports and the military in Russia and Belarus..
" The authors of the document noted that sports and politics in Russia and Belarus are closely intertwined.
According to the countries that applied to the IOC, against the backdrop of the ongoing brutality of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, there is no practical reason to move away from the exclusion regime for Russian and Belarusian athletes established by the IOC in a statement dated February 28, 2022. They also caught a serious concern about how realistic it is for Russian and Belarusian Olympians to compete as "
" While our collective approach has never been to discriminate solely on the basis of nationality, these serious issues must be addressed by the IOC,” the letter reads..
The sponsors urged the IOC to consider the issues raised and revise its proposal accordingly..
“We also note that Russia and Belarus are able to pave the way for the full return of their athletes to the international sports community with their own hands: for this they should stop the war they started,” the document says..
The letter was signed by representatives of the German, British and American governments, as well as France..
Other signatories include Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand,.
[see_also ids\u003d"
On February 17, the European Parliament called on the IOC to cancel the admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus to the selection for the 2024 Olympics.
Earlier, the International Olympic Committee announced its support for Ukrainian athletes, but at the same time noted that it does not consider its desire to return representatives of Russia and Belarus to world sports as a contradiction..