Ukrainian athletes could boycott this competition if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) fulfills the announcements about the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, reports the German news agency dpa.
Ukrainian Sports Minister Vadim Gutzeit informed IOC that the country plans to boycott the Paris Games if the umbrella international sports organization allows Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete, dpa reports.
“There can be no agreement with representatives of terrorist states,” Gutzeit said. As long as the war in Ukraine lasts, this country will advocate sanctions against Russia and Belarus. According to Gutzeit, the athletes of these two countries should not be allowed to compete even if they compete without national symbols under a neutral flag.
“I hope that all federations, athletes and the international community will closely monitor what is happening and that we will not have to resort to this extreme measure,” added Minister Gutzeit regarding the boycott of Paris.
Recently, after consulting with international and national federations and athletes’ representatives, Mok decided to explore ways to bring Russian and Belarusian athletes back to the 2024 Paris Olympics despite the war in Ukraine.
The strict conditions for the participation of Russians and Belarusians include compliance with the Olympic Charter and sanctions, which include a ban on displaying the flag, playing the anthem, colors or any other Russian and Belarusian symbols at sporting events. Mok referred to the fact that no athlete should be prevented from competing simply because of his passport.
As the French news agency AFP reported today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also responded to this event . He invited the President of IOC, Thomas Bach , to visit the Ukrainian city of Bahmut, where the worst conflict in the Ukrainian war is currently raging.
“I invite Mr. Bach to Bahmut so that he can see for himself that neutrality does not exist. Any neutral features of Russian athletes are marked with blood,” Zelensky said. At the same time, he expressed disappointment that the first husband of Moka did not explain in any of their conversations how he will separate sports and war propaganda, if Russian athletes really return to competitions.
