In view of the Russian war of aggression against his country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pushing for the 2024 Summer Olympics to be held without Russian athletes.
In his phone call with Emmanuel Macron, French President hosting the games in Paris, he emphasized that "athletes from the Russian Federation should not have a place there," Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter on Tuesday evening.
Christopher Becker
sports editor.
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Selenskyj had already emphasized his position to the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, in mid-December.
Bach and the IOC have been working for months on the return of Russian athletes under a neutral flag.
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After the war that had been waged against Ukraine since 2014 was unleashed in February, they are banned from most international sporting events for their own protection from retaliation by Ukrainian athletes or governments friendly to them, according to the IOC reasoning.
Bach emphasizes the "task of sport" to "unite the entire world in peaceful competition".
Macron said at the G-20 summit in Indonesia in mid-November that the games in Paris were intended for everyone, including athletes from warring states.
The Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), who is responsible for sport, emphasized in December that the exclusion of Russia must remain.
Qualifying competitions for Paris 2024 will start this spring.