(OTTAWA) Federal Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge is distancing herself from the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) over the possibility that Russian and Belarusian athletes could be 2024 Games in the French capital.
The federal government’s position in this regard is “clear: Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed to participate in international sports competitions,” the minister said in a written statement provided by her office on Thursday.
“We continue to show our solidarity with Ukraine, and I encourage the international sports community to do the same,” she added.
COC CEO and Secretary General David Shoemaker said he was “open to exploring” a possible return of Russian and Belarusian athletes, agreeing with the position of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“We recognize that the decision to exclude athletes solely on the basis of their nationality goes against the principles that are at the heart of the Olympic Movement,” he said in a statement sent by the organization.
“So, we are open to exploring a path leading to the inclusion of neutral Russian and Belarusian athletes who, at a minimum, respect the conditions established by the IOC Executive Board,” he added.
Ukraine waves a red flag
Last week, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, reacted unfavorably to the openness displayed by the IOC.
“The IOC has ignored Russia’s war crimes, saying ‘no athlete should be punished because of their passport’, while Ukrainian athletes continue to be shot because of theirs. I ask all sports leaders on the planet to speak out on this issue,” he tweeted.
Reactions to the IOC’s decision vary from country to country.
The new President and CEO of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) reiterated his organization’s support for exploring a path leading to the inclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes under a neutral banner at the Paris Games.
However, he recalled that the current sanctions against Russia must be maintained.
Latvia said on Wednesday it was considering a boycott of the Paris Olympics in 2024 if athletes from Russia and Belarus were granted permission to participate.
With Alexandre Geoffrion-McInnis, The Canadian Press