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By: AP
THE governments of 35 nations published a letter on Monday urging the IOC clarify the definition of “neutrality” seeking to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to re-enter international competitions and, possibly, the Paris Olympics next year. Australia was the latest country to be added to the call.
“Until these fundamental questions are addressed and there is a substantial lack of clarity and concrete detail about an acceptable ‘neutrality’ model, we do not agree that the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to competitions be allowed,” they said in a statement.
Among those who signed the letters They include officials from the United States, Britain, France, Canada and Germany. These five countries provided almost a fifth of the athletes in Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Other nations – such as Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, which have not ruled out the possibility of an Olympic boycott if the war in Ukraine continues – also signed the letter, which does not mention of boycott.
The letter originated after the February 10 summit in London between leaders who listened to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy stressed that Russian athletes had no place at the Paris Games as long as that country’s invasion of Ukraine continued.
The International Olympic Committee wants to justify the presence of Russians at the Olympic Games and mentioned the opinion of United Nations human rights experts who believe that Russians and Belarusians should not be discriminated against just because of the passport they carry. The IOC wants athletes from countries that do not support the war to be able to compete neutral and do not allow the display of the symbols of their country.
An IOC spokesperson said the committee was waiting to comment until it had access to the official statement.
State Department Assistant Secretary Lee Satterfield signed the letter on behalf of the United States. In a separate statement, Satterfield highlighted the need for the IOC to clarify the definition of neutral.
“The United States will continue to be part of the larger community of nations that hold Russia and Belarus — and the bad actors dictating their actions — accountable for this brutal war,” Satterfield said. “Russia has repeatedly shown that it does not respect and is unable to comply with the rules of international sport and international law.”
While acknowledging that there is a case for being allowed to compete as neutral athletes, the governments stressed in the letter that sports and politics they are closely linked in Russia and Belarus.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine marks its first year on Friday. Belarus is Russia’s closest ally.
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