Russia’s government is becoming increasingly aggressive towards the International Olympic Committee as the Paris Games draw near, according to IOC President Thomas Bach on Tuesday.
Last week, Russia’s sports minister, Oleg Matytsin, advocated against boycotting the Games scheduled from July 26 to August 11, despite the IOC’s imposition of restrictions on Russian athletes following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Under the IOC’s directives, Russian and Belarusian athletes who qualify for the Games will be permitted to participate as neutrals, devoid of their countries’ flags, emblems, or national anthems.
“As far as their participation is concerned, we have heard the rather polite signal (from the Russian sports minister)... but on the other hand, we’ve also seen the government’s very aggressive comments,” Bach told French daily Le Monde.
Discussions concerning the involvement of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the opening and closing ceremonies are slated to take place during the IOC’s executive board meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“The IOC doesn’t comment, but we can see that the government’s aggressiveness is growing by the day, against the IOC, against the Games, against me,” he said.
“They range from ‘fascist’ to ‘destroyer of the Games and the Olympic movement’. And it all comes from Russian officials. I don’t know if it’s coming from Vladimir Putin himself; I don’t look at Telegram every day. I'm not that masochistic, but the attacks are coming from all levels,” Bach said.
“The Russian Olympic Committee wants to exercise its authority over the regions annexed by the Russian government. This is a violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine,” he continued.
As tensions persist and diplomatic complexities unfold, the IOC finds itself navigating a delicate balancing act to ensure the integrity of the Olympic Games amidst geopolitical turmoil.
Under the IOC’s directives, Russian and Belarusian athletes who qualify for the Games will be permitted to participate as neutrals, devoid of their countries’ flags, emblems, or national anthems.
“As far as their participation is concerned, we have heard the rather polite signal (from the Russian sports minister)... but on the other hand, we’ve also seen the government’s very aggressive comments,” Bach told French daily Le Monde.
Discussions concerning the involvement of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the opening and closing ceremonies are slated to take place during the IOC’s executive board meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“The IOC doesn’t comment, but we can see that the government’s aggressiveness is growing by the day, against the IOC, against the Games, against me,” he said.
“They range from ‘fascist’ to ‘destroyer of the Games and the Olympic movement’. And it all comes from Russian officials. I don’t know if it’s coming from Vladimir Putin himself; I don’t look at Telegram every day. I'm not that masochistic, but the attacks are coming from all levels,” Bach said.
“The Russian Olympic Committee wants to exercise its authority over the regions annexed by the Russian government. This is a violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine,” he continued.
As tensions persist and diplomatic complexities unfold, the IOC finds itself navigating a delicate balancing act to ensure the integrity of the Olympic Games amidst geopolitical turmoil.
Source: Reuters
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