Cuba, Mongolia to participate in 2023 CIS Games in Belarus

November 13, BPN. The second Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Games will be held in August 2023 in Belarus “in an open format,” Minister of Sport and Tourism Siarhiej Kavalčuk told the joint board of sports ministries of Belarus and Russia on November 11.

The first CIS Games, held in 2021 in Russia’s Kazan, attracted over 1,000 athletes.

“Mongolia and Cuba have already expressed their desire to participate in our competitions,” the sports ministry’s press office quoted the official as saying. The CIS Games would “strengthen interregional ties,” he added.

In late April, Deputy Prime Minister Ihar Pietryšenka stressed the importance of the 2023 CIS Games, given the “unprecedented pressure” on Belarus and Russia.

On February 28, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that athletes and officials from Belarus and Russia should be excluded from international competitions. The IOC said it protected “the integrity of global sporting events and the safety of all participants.”

This recommendation was implemented immediately and on a mass scale. Belarusian and Russian athletes may miss the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.