“Russian athletes must oppose Putin’s war and must say stop to this war”Vitali Klitschko, mayor of kyiv and former world heavyweight boxing champion, told franceinfo on Friday February 10 about the possibility of an expulsion of Russian athletes from the Paris Olympics in 2024.
>> Paris 2024: Anne Hidalgo does not “want” Russian athletes “as long as there is war” in Ukraine
“As a sportsman and former sportsman, there are principles that are clear: if you do not respect the rules, you are disqualified”he believes. “It’s the same with the Russians: they kill civilians and have to pay for it.”
On Thursday, the mayor of kyiv welcomed the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, who reiterated her demand for the expulsion of Russian athletes from the Paris Games: “As long as the Russians continue to bombard you, to target your civilian populations, your infrastructures, to wage this war, as long as Russian soldiers occupy your territory, I do not want Russian athletes to participate in the sports events in Paris”Anne Hidalgo said Thursday during a speech to the Kyiv City Council.
“Good relations with Paris”
“We are always happy to see our friends in our hometown, especially French friends, with whom we have good relations”adds the mayor of kyiv about the visit of the mayor of Paris. “Not everyone has the courage to come and visit kyiv, he greets. Mrs. Hidalgo came twice while no one can guarantee her safety. At any time, a bombing or drone attack may occur in our city.”
The meeting between the two elected officials was immortalized with a video on Anne Hidalgo’s Twitter account, where we see her applauded by the audience. Tuesday, on franceinfo, the city councilor had already indicated that she “wish“not the presence of Russian athletes at the next Olympics”as long as there is war” in Ukraine.
During this visit to the Ukrainian capital, Anne Hidalgo also met with the mayor of the city, Vitali Klitschko, then went “in a school in which a generator provided by the city of Paris must be installed“, specified his entourage to franceinfo, Thursday morning, confirming information from the Parisian/Today in France. “In solidarity with kyiv, Paris financed 10 electric generators“, specified Anne Hidalgo on her Twitter account. They will supply the school as well as “public services, places of welcome and refuge, or the NGO LGBTQI Insight Ukraine“, she adds. For the mayor of Paris, “this is an opportunity to recall the strong ties that unite the two cities, that Paris and the Parisians will always be alongside the Ukrainians“.