"I invite to Bakhmut": Zelensky criticized the IOC for position on Russians (video)
The Ukrainian leader stated that during the war could not be neutral. Zelensky noted that dictators often try to use sports in promoting their ideologies and added that any neutral flag of Russian athletes was "blooded". The President also disappointed by the position of the head of the IOC, noting that he did not hear from him how to protect the sport from "Propaganda of War", if representatives of Russia were admitted to the Olympic competitions.
"We will do everything to protect the world from the political and any other influence of the terrorist state who is simply inevitable if Russian athletes participate in competitions," Zelensky said. The Ukrainian leader also mentioned that the war against Ukraine had taken the lives of hundreds of Ukrainians and Ukrainian women who could contribute to world sports. "I invite Mr. Bach to Bakhmut so that he can see with his own eyes that there is no neutrality," Volodymyr Zelenskyy summed up.
Last November, the head of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach called on the leaders of the Grand Twenty countries to review the decisions to remove Russian athletes from international competitions. Bach stated that sports should not turn into a political instrument and called on the G20 to "political neutrality" on this issue.
"Unlike too many other wars and conflicts in our world, some governments have begun to decide which athletes will be admitted to participation in international sports competitions - and which are not," said IOC chairman. On January 25, Thomas Bach proposed to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, even if the war continues in Ukraine.
The US Olympic Committee stated that Russian and Belarusian athletes may be admitted to the upcoming Olympic Games, but without the use of flags and other symbols of their countries. NOC President Vadim Gutzait has reported that Ukraine can boycott the 2024 Olympics in Paris if the International Olympic Committee still allow Russian and Belarussian athletes to competition. Gutzait wrote about it on January 26 on his Facebook page.