Russia must not boycott » the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, assured Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin on Wednesday March 13, despite the restrictions imposed on the participation of its athletes in reaction to the offensive in Ukraine. “ We must not turn away, close ourselves off, boycott this movement “, declared the minister during a meeting, referring to the Olympics next summer, according to the state agency Tass. “ We must, as much as possible, preserve the possibility of dialogue and participation in competitions “, he said. At the beginning of December, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) authorized Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris Games (July 26-August 11) on the condition that they compete under a neutral banner, excluding team events, and that they do not have not actively supported the Russian offensive in Ukraine and that they have cleared the qualification hurdle. In December, President Vladimir Putin estimated that the IOC risked “ bury the Olympic movement » by imposing the neutral banner on Russian and Belarusian athletes.
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