06:25Ukraine: Zelensky claims Russian athletes at Paris Olympics would show 'terror can be acceptable'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for Russian athletes to be banned from the Paris Olympics this summer and criticised the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) recent decision on allowing them to compete, during a video address in Kiev on Sunday.
"The International Olympic Committee's attempt to get Russian athletes back to compete and participate in the Olympics is an attempt to tell the world that terror can allegedly be something acceptable," he claimed.
"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.
Last week, the IOC said it would consider allowing Russians and Belarusians to compete as 'neutrals', as part of a multi-step initiative, while 'no athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport’.
Zelensky added that he had written to French President Emmanuel Macron reiterating his position.
"In the first half of the 20th century, too many mistakes were made in Europe that led to horrific tragedies. There was also a major Olympic mistake. The Olympic movement and terrorist states should definitely not intersect," the Ukrainian leader stated.
Ukraine’s Sports Minister Vadym Goutzeit has claimed the country’s athletes could boycott the games if Russian and Belarusian are present.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said Moscow would 'need to see what will be accepted'.
"So far, one thing is striking - even in the wording of the initiative there is too much politics, which should be alien to the ideas of the Olympic family," he stated.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022, 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, urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and guarantee that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
06:25Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for Russian athletes to be banned from the Paris Olympics this summer and criticised the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) recent decision on allowing them to compete, during a video address in Kiev on Sunday.
"The International Olympic Committee's attempt to get Russian athletes back to compete and participate in the Olympics is an attempt to tell the world that terror can allegedly be something acceptable," he claimed.
"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.
Last week, the IOC said it would consider allowing Russians and Belarusians to compete as 'neutrals', as part of a multi-step initiative, while 'no athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport’.
Zelensky added that he had written to French President Emmanuel Macron reiterating his position.
"In the first half of the 20th century, too many mistakes were made in Europe that led to horrific tragedies. There was also a major Olympic mistake. The Olympic movement and terrorist states should definitely not intersect," the Ukrainian leader stated.
Ukraine’s Sports Minister Vadym Goutzeit has claimed the country’s athletes could boycott the games if Russian and Belarusian are present.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said Moscow would 'need to see what will be accepted'.
"So far, one thing is striking - even in the wording of the initiative there is too much politics, which should be alien to the ideas of the Olympic family," he stated.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022, 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, urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and guarantee that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.