Among the signatories of the declaration are 24 countries of the European Union, as well as the United States, Australia, Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Ukraine, South Korea, Japan , Norway, Iceland, Albania and Liechtenstein.
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This is the fourth communiqué issued and signed jointly by the heads of sports ministries of various countries. Now Albania has joined them.
“We are of the opinion that the Russian government, which has twice violated the rules of the Olympic ceasefire, must not be allowed to use sport to legitimize its barbaric and unprovoked attack on Ukraine, and that the Belarusian government must not be allowed to use sport to legitimize its complicity with Russia in a war of aggression,” reads the statement signed by Minister Kamil Bortniczuk.
At the end of January, the IOC announced that Russians and Belarusians would be allowed to compete in the French capital, but without the possibility of presenting the national colors or playing anthems.
In March, it officially allowed athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports to participate in international competitions despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, but to a limited extent. Representatives of these countries may not display national flags and colors and may not actively support hostilities and belong to the armies of these countries. In addition, they can only compete in individual disciplines.
“With respect to the IOC’s recommendations, we are fully confident that while it has addressed some aspects of the serious concerns raised in our joint statement of February 21, 2023, there remain significant issues that have not been clarified, including regarding player ties to the military, state funding and other forms of official support for players and support personnel, a definition of what teams are and mechanisms to enforce the proposed solutions.
In February, the Ministry of Sports and Tourism and representatives of many other countries signed a statement in which they underlined the desire to exclude Russians and Belarusians from international sport, including from the Olympics next year. in Paris. The IOC said a decision on the event would be made later.
Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, supported by Belarus, has been going on since February 24 last year.
