BRATISLAVA, 9 Feb. Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico believes that athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus should not be prohibited from participating in the Olympic Games.
“»As for the Olympics. Imagine, you have some kind of sports discipline and in this sports discipline the first place is taken by an absolute world celebrity from Russia or Belarus. You will prohibit them from participating in the competition and the winner will be the one who would otherwise have the minimum probability of winning, what is the value of this gold medal then? — Fico said in an interview with Pravda.
The Prime Minister of Slovakia said that “he would never in his life stop athletes from competing.”
Earlier, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the admission of Russians and Belarusians to the Olympics in an individual neutral status subject to a number of criteria. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that in the issue of Russian participation in the Olympics in Paris, one must be guided by the interests of the athletes, the decision remains with them. At the same time, the head of state noted that if there is an infringement of the rights of athletes from the sports societies CSKA and Dynamo, then the Ministry of Sports and the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) must make a “well-informed decision.”