03:54Russia: We call on Ukrainian NOC to desist boycott of Olympic Games in Paris - ROC President Pozdnyakov
Head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Stanislav Pozdnyakov called on the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee to drop the idea of boycotting the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, speaking during the presentation of the Russian Biathlon Union project on import substitution of skiing equipment at the ROC's Innovation Centre in Moscow on Tuesday.
"We take into account that in our modern history any attempts to boycott major competitions, the Olympic Games, have never led to the success of the country which did it. In this part, we certainly call on our Ukrainian colleagues to desist from this boycott tactic," Pozdnyakov said.
On 25 January, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) called on the sports federations to consider allowing Russian athletes who are not actively involved in supporting the special military operation to attend international tournaments in neutral status.
The next day, Ukraine's Youth and Sports Minister and NOC president Vadim Gutzeit claimed, that Kiev does not rule out refusing to compete in the 2024 Olympics unless the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes participating in international competitions is extended.
In turn, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov claimed that "even in the wording of the initiative there is too much politics, which should be alien to the ideas of the Olympic family."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on his Telegram channel on Tuesday that he was disappointed by the statements of IOC's head Thomas Bach about the admission of Russian athletes under a neutral flag to the 2024 Olympics, which will be held in Paris between July 26 and August 11, 2024.
"As we prepare for the Paris Olympics, we must be sure that Russia will not be able to use it or any other international sporting event to promote aggression or its state chauvinism," he continued.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
03:54Head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Stanislav Pozdnyakov called on the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee to drop the idea of boycotting the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, speaking during the presentation of the Russian Biathlon Union project on import substitution of skiing equipment at the ROC's Innovation Centre in Moscow on Tuesday.
"We take into account that in our modern history any attempts to boycott major competitions, the Olympic Games, have never led to the success of the country which did it. In this part, we certainly call on our Ukrainian colleagues to desist from this boycott tactic," Pozdnyakov said.
On 25 January, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) called on the sports federations to consider allowing Russian athletes who are not actively involved in supporting the special military operation to attend international tournaments in neutral status.
The next day, Ukraine's Youth and Sports Minister and NOC president Vadim Gutzeit claimed, that Kiev does not rule out refusing to compete in the 2024 Olympics unless the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes participating in international competitions is extended.
In turn, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov claimed that "even in the wording of the initiative there is too much politics, which should be alien to the ideas of the Olympic family."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on his Telegram channel on Tuesday that he was disappointed by the statements of IOC's head Thomas Bach about the admission of Russian athletes under a neutral flag to the 2024 Olympics, which will be held in Paris between July 26 and August 11, 2024.
"As we prepare for the Paris Olympics, we must be sure that Russia will not be able to use it or any other international sporting event to promote aggression or its state chauvinism," he continued.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.