{"id":54818,"date":"2023-12-11T21:53:15","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T18:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&p=54818"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","slug":"lithuania-poland-upset-by-decision-to-allow-belarus-russia-athletes-to-paris-olympics","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/54818\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithuania, Poland upset by decision to allow Belarus, Russia athletes to Paris Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (International Olympic Committee website)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

December 11, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Vilnius and Warsaw have expressed their disappointment over the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow Belarusian and Russian athletes to compete as neutrals in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is a very disappointing decision,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Naus\u0117da said. “I still hope that it can be reviewed and corrected,” he said today at a joint press conference of the presidents of the Baltic states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Olympic principles have nothing to do with terror, killings, and destruction, he said, as quoted by Delfi<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is very disappointing to see such decisions now, at a critical moment of the war in Ukraine,” Naus\u0117da said. “We must remain united. This also concerns the Olympic Committee and the Olympic Movement, not just us.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus expressed a similar opinion today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Lithuanian National Olympic Committee, he slammed the decision as “wrong and unacceptable.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Olympic movement is an example of peace and calm, but now they allow the aggressor countries to participate in the Games,” Adamkus said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his opinion, sport is not separate from the state and the nation. “If the state takes a certain platform, athletes cannot compete on the aggressive platform of the state. It is a question of moral ethics, and it cannot be ignored. How can it be justified while the conflict is not resolved and the fighting continues? If you look at history, there was the Olympic Truce, but in the modern world we allow the aggressor country to participate during a massacre.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Polish Ministry of Sport and Tourism said in a statement that “since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, we have consistently taken the position” that the Russian and Belarusian athletes “cannot be admitted to international tournaments, including the Olympics, which are the world’s most important sporting event.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is confirmed by “Poland’s continued participation in the coalition of countries opposing the participation of Russia and Belarus in international competitions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On December 8, the IOC allowed individual athletes from Belarus and Russia to compete in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics as neutrals. No Russian or Belarusian officials will be invited or accredited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Athletes who actively support the Russian war against Ukraine are not eligible, just as athletes and support personnel who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmong the 4,600 athletes from around the world who have qualified for Paris 2024 so far, there are only 11 Individual Neutral Athletes (eight with a Russian passport plus three with a Belarusian passport). In comparison, to date more than 60 Ukrainian athletes have qualified for Paris 2024,\u201d the IOC board said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On December 11, the National Olympic Committee of Belarus demanded explanations on the participation of Belarusian athletes in the remaining qualifiers for the Olympics. It addressed the demand to both the IOC and the international federations as the main organizers of the games in their disciplines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus was banned from nearly all international competitions after Minsk allowed Russian troops to invade Ukraine from the country\u2019s territory in February 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

December 11, Pozirk. Vilnius and Warsaw have expressed their disappointment over the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow Belarusian and Russian athletes to compete as neutrals in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. “This is a very disappointing decision,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Naus\u0117da said. “I still hope that it can be reviewed and corrected,” he said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":54352,"template":"","rubric":[14],"class_list":["post-54818","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLithuania, Poland upset by decision to allow Belarus, Russia athletes to Paris Olympics | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"December 11, Pozirk. 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