Kuleba urges UK not to issue visas for Russian and Belarusian tennis players allowed to compete at Wimbledon

Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, has called upon the UK government to deny visas to Russian and Belarusian tennis players who are now allowed to compete in the Wimbledon Championships despite Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine.

Source: Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on Twitter

Quote: "Has Russia ceased its aggression or atrocities? No, it’s just that Wimbledon decided to accommodate two accomplices in crime. I call on the UK government to deny visas to their players."

Details: Kuleba called Wimbledon’s decision to allow the Russian and Belarusian players to compete "immoral".

Background: 

• On 31 March, the organisers of Wimbledon, one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world, announced the lifting of the ban on Russian and Belarusian tennis players.
• They are allowed to compete provided that they sign a declaration of neutrality. In addition, Russian and Belarusian tennis players may not receive funding from their countries, and there will be a zero-tolerance approach towards any flags, symbols or other actions that support Russia, Belarus or the war.
• The organisers explained that their decision had been taken due to the penalties imposed by the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women’s Tennis Association.

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