A decision on the participation of Russian athletes in the 2024 Paris Olympics will be made this summer, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th February, 2023) A decision on the participation of Russian athletes in the 2024 Paris Olympics will be made this summer, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.
"There is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which makes decisions, this is its role, its function... The decisions that were made earlier are relevant to competitions in the next few months and do not cover the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in France. The decision will be made in the summer, and we will consider it depending on the circumstances and what will be happening on the battlefield," he told reporters before the EU summit.
Macron also said that the issue had been discussed at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris.
On Tuesday, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, contrary to her previous statements, spoke out against the participation of Russian athletes in the 2024 Olympics. The official representative of the French government, Olivier Veran, also said that the final decision on the matter would be made in the summer.
On January 25, the IOC supported the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international tournaments as neutral athletes, adding that those who actively supported the special operation in Ukraine should be banned from competitions.
