Austrian government wants russians and belarusians banned from 2024 Olympics
The Austrian government considers it unacceptable for russian and belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France, Austrian Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Sports Werner Kogler said in a comment to Der Standard.
Earlier, the Austrian Olympic Committee president, Peter Mennel, supported the International Olympic Commitee's decision not to suspend any athlete "only based on their passport," Kogler categorically disagrees with this opinion.
"Such a flagrant violation of international law should lead to consequences and sanctions in all areas," Kogler stressed. "With a full understanding of the situation of certain russian or belarusian athletes, I sympathize first of all with the families of those Ukrainian athletes, of whom there are already about 220, according to some data, who died on the battlefield or, as a result of russian attacks on civilian infrastructure."
The Austrian vice-chancellor emphasized that "it is simply unacceptable for Ukrainian athletes to compete for medals side by side with russian and belarusian athletes," adding the IOC's criticism of Ukraine's position "must be rejected."
Kogler stressed that a significant part of russian and belarusian athletes are military personnel.
"45 out of 71 medals were won by the russian military in Tokyo. At the Winter Games in Beijing, a third of the russian Olympic committee team members served in the army," the Austrian vice-chancellor emphasized.
After russia started a full-scale war against Ukraine last year, athletes from both countries were excluded from many international sports competitions.
The International Olympic Committee has developed a road map to allow russians and belarusians to compete in 2024 as "neutral" under strict conditions, while athletes from both countries have been banned from many international sporting events since russia launched an all-out war against Ukraine last year and belarus supported it.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his disappointment with the IOC's statement and invited IOC President Thomas Bach to the eastern city of Bakhmut, Ukraine's largest flashpoint, where Ukrainian soldiers have been battling against russian brutal attacks since August 2022.
After IOC's decision, the likes of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have threatened to boycott the Games.
Polish Minister of Sports Kamil Bortniczuk said that about 40 countries would oppose the inclusion of athletes from russia and belarus in the program of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, making the completion "pointless."
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also objected to russian and belarusian participation in 2024 Paris Olympics.
