By KYIV. Dec 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a telephone conversation with President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, the press service of the head of state reports.
Zelensky expressed disappointment with the presence of the president of the Russian Olympic Committee at the IOC summit on November 9 and with the intentions to return Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions under a neutral flag.
"Since February, 184 Ukrainian athletes have died as a result of Russia’s actions. One cannot try to be neutral when the foundations of peaceful life are being destroyed and universal human values are being ignored," the President of Ukraine said.
According to him, the silence of athletes, coaches and officials condones aggression, and Russia uses sports for propaganda purposes.
The only fair response to such actions is complete isolation of the terrorist state on the international stage. In particular, this applies to international sports events.
