(London) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will speak on Friday during a videoconference bringing together sports ministers from several countries on the presence of Russian athletes at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, according to the PA agency.
The Ukrainian leader, who will speak at the opening of this conference organized by London, has repeatedly called for the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from the next Olympic Games, calling again this week to “protect the Olympic charter”.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago, Russian and Belarusian athletes have been barred from most international competitions, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been working for weeks to ensure they can participate in the 2024 Olympics under a neutral banner.
The United Kingdom, strong supporter of Ukraine since the start of the war, criticized the IOC’s position, as did many other European states, including Czechia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Poland. .
“We must ask the IOC to demonstrate that the values of Olympism mean something. We must be clear that there are consequences to this illegal invasion, ”said British Sports Minister Lucy Frazer, quoted by the PA agency.
“We cannot allow Russian athletes to line up alongside the British team or anyone else on the world stage,” she added.
Polish Sports Minister Kamil Bortniczuk said a few days ago that he expected around 40 countries to oppose the participation of Russians and Belarusians at Friday’s conference.
Some countries are even waving boycott threats, following in Ukraine’s footsteps.
The IOC denounced these threats, which “go against the fundamentals of the Olympic movement”, in a letter revealed on Thursday and sent by its president Thomas Bach to the Ukrainian Olympic committee.