KAZAN, July 19, Adela Ziatdinova. Honored Coach of the USSR Tatyana Tarasova said that Russian athletes do not care whether Ukrainian athletes greet them at the Olympics or not.
On Friday, the President of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine Vadim Gutzeit spoke about an agreement with international federations on the absence of greetings between Ukrainians and Russians during the Olympic Games in Paris.
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"I’m not going to tell Ukrainians how to behave. They have their own culture of behavior. We don't care whether they greet us or not. Will they shake our hand? We don’t need their handshakes at all,” said Tarasova.
The Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Russians to participate in the Games subject to a number of criteria. In Paris they will be able to perform in a neutral status, but their compliance with the necessary criteria was assessed by a special IOC commission (AINERP), consisting of three people. Only 15 Russians representing five sports will compete at the Games in Paris.