Russian athletes are not obliged to condemn Russian aggression in order to participate in competitions

The Russian and Belarusian athletes will sign a declaration in which they commit to meeting the neutrality criteria in order to return to international competitions.

Source: Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne, citing the interview of Francesco Ricci Bitti, President of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), for the media outlet L’Equipe

Details: Bitti explained that at the moment, the declarations for the Russian and Belarusian athletes are being developed. The athletes will not be required to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine in writing for security reasons.

Quote: "The athletes will receive a declaration to sign. But they will not be required to indicate that they are against the war – in Russia, it is considered a criminal offence.

We are working on the declaration, relying on legal support. The Formula One pilots are already doing this (signing the declaration – ed.). Some federations, like a swimming one, are ahead of us; we will try to balance it out, but it is not easy."

Details: At the moment, the Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Wimbledon tennis contest are being required to sign the declaration to participate in the competition.

Background:

• Back in July 2022, Ukraine called upon its international partners to ban Russians and Belarusians from participating in sports competitions even under neutral flags.
• On 20 April, Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, while on a visit to Ukraine, stated that the Russian athletes must not be allowed to partake in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, if the war continues until that time.

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