The President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, expressed his joy on Monday at the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from the European Games, which the country organizes in Krakow, between June 21 and July 2.
“I would like to thank everyone for deciding that [estes Jogos] will take place without the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes,” he declared, in Rome, at the European Games torch relay ceremony.
Duda recalled that “Russia is an aggressor country that started the war in Ukraine”, adding to the equation “the Belarusian regime that helps it”.
Already last week, the president of the organizing committee had announced that athletes from Russia and neighboring Belarus would not be able to participate in the event, which will bring together some 7,500 athletes from 18 sports.
“Under no pretext and under no circumstances will athletes representing Russia and Belarus be allowed to participate in our events,” Marcin Nowak stressed.
The country’s president said that “these will be the Games of peace and tranquility”, during which it will not be necessary to “pretend that everything is fine”.
On March 28, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended the individual participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions, under a neutral flag, postponing a decision on participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics until later.
The executive committee, made up of 15 members, will have the last word on who can compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will take place in the French capital between July 26 and August 11 (Olympic) and 28 from August to September 8 (Paralympics).
The Russian invasion that began on February 24, 2022 – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the international community in general, which has responded with shipment of arms to Ukraine and the imposition of political and economic sanctions on Russia.
Source: TSF
