SIMFEROPOL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2021) The chairman of the Crimean Committee on People's Diplomacy and Interethnic Relations, Yuri Hempel, told Sputnik on Friday that the updated world map on the official website of the Tokyo Olympics, which did not put a borderline between the peninsula and Ukraine, was "geographical ignorance."
Earlier in the week, the Games organizers posted on the Tokyo Olympics website a map with countries to allow fans to support their national teams with "applause," which can be found in the "Schedule&results" section. On the map, Ukraine and Crimea were separated by a border. Ukraine objected to this demarcation, and the map was changed to remove the border. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that the original demarcation was an unfortunate error of the provider, which was promptly fixed.
"It is wrong when politics interfere in sports. Crimea is a legitimate part of Russia and it is an unfortunate mistake to deny this. The IOC, following the lead of Ukrainian and Western politicians, demonstrates geographical ignorance, " Hempel said.
The change of borders on the Olympics website marks a very sad trend, but does not alter the political situation, he added.
For his part, when asked about Kremlin's reaction to the situation, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it was a subject for attention.
"I think this is an occasion for our embassy, including our sports officials, to take appropriate actions, to ask appropriate questions," Peskov told reporters.
The reunification of Crimea with Russia came as the result of a March 2014 referendum, where nearly 97% of those who voted backed the initiative. Most Western countries, as well as Ukraine, did not recognize the referendum results and imposed sanctions on Russia.
