MOSCOW, Jul 6 Russia needs an effective independent system for training athletes and national competitions while maintaining openness to foreign partners, said Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
"Our athletes were among the first to face the strongest pressure from the collective West. Although it seemed that sport should always be outside of politics. The restrictions are aimed primarily at expelling Russia from international organizations, taking away the right to host championships, and, most unfairly, depriving our guys of the opportunity to compete for leadership in major tournaments,” he said at a strategic session on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister recalled that the President of the Russian Federation instructed to maintain the competitive activity of Russian athletes, to provide for new competition formats. «In essence, we need an effective and completely independent system of sports training and our national competitions. And at the same time, it is important to always remain open to foreign partners, who, like us, believe that sport is about mutual respect and friendship, and not about behind-the-scenes games and dishonest fights, when the strongest are forced out under the pretext of politics,» Mishustin added.