The Head of IOC States Olympic Committee has No Role as Mediator in Political Conflicts – Ukrayinska Pravda

President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, who wants to allow Belarusians and Russians to compete, said that “the IOC cannot be an arbiter in global political disputes.”

Source: Reuters

Details: Bach stated that “the Olympic Games and their governing body, the International Olympic Committee, cannot be arbiters in global political disputes.”

Thus, the head of the IOC defends the plans of the committee to allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Olympics, which will be held in 2024 in Paris.

Speaking at a political forum, Bach stated that “The Games must stay away from politics or they will lose their unifying power, citing past boycotts in the 1970s and 1980s.”

What preceded this:

• IOC President Thomas Bach said he wants to “explore the possibility” of returning athletes from Russia and Belarus to international sports, even though this may be the reason for the boycott of competitions by Ukraine.
• President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach reacted rather harshly to Ukraine’s intentions to boycott the 2024 Olympic Games in France. He even hinted at the possible punishment of Ukrainian athletes.
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a letter to the presidents of leading international sports federations with a call to decide on the IOC’s desire to return Russian athletes to international competitions.
• The governments of nearly 30 countries, including 2024 Olympic host France, have called on the International Olympic Committee to bar Russians and Belarusians from participating in the games in Paris due to problems with the clarity of the “neutrality” of the athletes.