Lithuania adopts resolution on Olympic ban of russian and belarusian participants

Lithuanian Seimas adopted a resolution that calls on banning russian and belarusian athletes from this year's Olympics in Paris.

Speaker of the Seimas Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen emphasized that there cannot be a neutral flag for the representatives of the aggressor countries while russia's brutal war in Ukraine continues, the Seimas reports.

"Lithuanian Seimas unanimously adopted a resolution on the prohibition of the participation of athletes from the russian federation and the republic of belarus in the Olympic Games and other international competitions." the statement says.

The Government of Great Britain appealed to the largest sponsors of the Olympic Games with a call to put pressure on the International Olympic Committee due to its proposals to allow russians and belarusians to compete again in international sports and at the Games in Paris in 2024.

On January 25, the IOC issued a statement calling for certain russian and belarusian athletes who do not support the war in Ukraine to be allowed to compete in sports under a neutral flag.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, also sent letters to the presidents of the leading international sports federations regarding the ban on russia's participation in the competitions. The Ukrainian leader said that Ukraine is launching an international campaign to prevent russian athletes from competing at the Olympics.

A number of countries, including Poland and Great Britain, have already condemned the IOC's intentions. And Denmark did not even rule out the possibility of a boycott. Instead, the IOC rejected criticism from Ukraine, calling it "slanderous".