The governments of some 30 countries issued a letter on Monday asking the International Olympic Committee to clarify its definition of “neutrality” as the organization explores ways to reintegrate Russia and Belarus into the international sporting arena, and ultimately , at the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024.
“As long as these fundamental issues and the lack of clarity and concrete details regarding a working ‘neutrality’ model persists, we will disagree with the presence of Russian and Belarusian athletes at competitions,” read a letter. the Associated Press obtained the copy, before it was widely distributed.
Among the signatories to the letter are leaders from Canada, the United States, Britain and Germany. These five countries contributed nearly one-fifth of all athletes who competed at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
This letter was written after a summit held on February 10 in London between the leaders of these countries, who listened to the speech of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky said Russian athletes should not be able to compete in the Paris Games as long as their country continues to invade Ukraine.
The IOC is exploring ways to allow Russians to participate in the Olympics, citing the opinion of UN human rights experts who believe that Russians and Belarusians should not face discrimination simply because of their passports. The IOC wants athletes from those countries who have not publicly expressed their support for the invasion of Ukraine to be able to participate in the Paris Olympics under a neutral banner, without any symbol associated with their country of origin .
Although they admitted that there is scope for allowing the targeted athletes to compete under a neutral banner, the government leaders underlined in the document the fact that sport and politics are inseparable in Russia and Belarus. Russia entered the war against Ukraine almost a year ago and Belarus supported Vladimir Putin’s offensive.
“We are particularly concerned about how to allow Olympic athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under a neutral banner – the condition established by the IOC –, while they are directly funded by their respective states [contrairement, par exemple, aux joueurs de tennis professionnels], the letter mentioned. Accordingly, we have never approached this situation in a discriminatory way based strictly on nationality. [des athlètes], but the IOC will have to address these concerns. »
Last week, IOC President Thomas Bach said his organization stands in solidarity with Ukrainian athletes, but must also respect the human rights of all.
“History will remember those who did everything to achieve peace. Those who try to keep the channels of communication open, to discuss, and those who try to isolate, to divide,” Bach retorted.
Moreover, in the letter sent on Monday, in addition to demanding clarifications on the position of the IOC, the leaders of the governments recalled that the best way for Russia to quickly reintegrate the Olympic movement is “to put an end to the war that she triggered.