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Poland bets on "boycotting" the Paris Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes participate

MADRID, 3 Feb.

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Poland bets on "boycotting" the Paris Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes participate

MADRID, 3 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Polish authorities have defended this Friday the possibility of "boycotting" the next Olympic Games in Paris 2024 if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allows Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate.

This was stated by the vice president of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pavel Jablonsky, in line with what high-ranking officials of the Ukrainian government have been demanding for weeks, such as the president himself, Volodimir Zelenski, and other kyiv partners, such as Latvia.

"My personal opinion is that if athletes from Russia and Belarus were admitted to the Games in 2024, then we should boycott these Games, they should not participate. This is the pressure that we must put on the International Olympic Committee," Yablonsky said in a statement. interview for the Polish radio RMF.

Yablonsky has ensured that the Russian and Belarusian presidents, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, respectively, use sports to strengthen their support bases. Therefore, limiting the participation of athletes "is a way to counter Russian propaganda."

Although he has specified that any decision about the role of Poland in sports competitions must be taken by the country's organizations, which work independently of the Government, the authorities, he has warned, will pressure them to decide to also boycott the next appointment Olympic in Paris.

Since the IOC's intention to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris Games under a neutral flag was made public, Zelensky has accused the highest Olympic body of collaborating with Moscow, warning of the possibility of a boycott, a threat to joined by the main partners of Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries.