French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday rejected the possibility of a Russian flag at the Paris 2024 Olympics over Ukraine’s ongoing invasion, citing “war crimes” committed by the Putin regime.
“It is clear that there should not be a Russian flag at the Paris Games, I think there is a consensus on that,” he said in an interview with the French daily L’Equipe, stressing that “Russia as a country at the same time has no place when it committed war crimes and deported children”.
Asked about the possible presence of individual Russian athletes, Macron stressed that this is a decision to be made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“I hope it is a conscious decision of the Olympic world (…) it is not the host country that has to decide what the IOC should do (…) I have full confidence in Thomas Bach,” he said of the IOC president.
The president of France also expressed a desire to “involve the Ukrainians in this reflection”.
“The real question that the Olympic world will have to decide is what place to give to these Russian athletes, who have sometimes been preparing all their lives and who may also be victims of this regime,” he said.
On how to distinguish between Russian athletes who are accomplices and victims of the regime, Macron argued that the Olympic world should decide.
“That is the real question, and that is where the Olympic world, in conscience, must express its opinion and specify guarantees,” he stated.
The military offensive that Russia launched in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, triggered the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II (1939-1945), according to the latest UN data.
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – has been condemned by the international community at large, which has responded by sending arms to Ukraine and to impose on Russia from the political and political side. economic sanctions.
Source: DN
