International Olympic Committee risks going down in history as an organization that condones aggressors – Foreign Minister on the decision to admit Russians
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba criticized the decision of the International Olympic Committee, which gave recommendations on the admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus to international competitions.
In an op-ed for the French newspaper L’Express, the minister noted that for more than two decades, Russia has been on a rigid diet of militarism and imperialism and has used the rise of chauvinistic sentiment typical of sporting events as a tool to motivate Russians to shed blood and lay the groundwork for aggression.
– In a manner typical of a former KGB officer, Putin either used sports victories to strengthen his political course or openly and systematically falsified them,” Kuleba said.
The minister writes that the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008 and the war against Ukraine coincided with the Olympic Games in Beijing and Sochi for a reason.
And the final part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup gave Russian propaganda a reason to raise morale on the eve of terrible events. Kuleba notes that it is no coincidence that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 began a few days after the end of the Beijing Olympics.
– “Those who do not see an obvious connection between these events simply chose to be blind,” he adds.
Kuleba emphasizes that over the past two decades, the world has seen many of Russia’s dirty tricks, including doping and bribery of international sports officials.
– For Putin, sport is just another tool for creating a “brave new world,” a world without rules. In this world, Russia must always win – whether through doping, corruption, war, or the untold suffering of neighboring countries. Like any dictator, Putin believes that there is only one right: the right of force. Everything else – honesty, courtesy and transparency – is considered by dictators to be a charade.
According to the minister, for too long the world has been willing to turn a blind eye to this behavior. But now Russia is no longer winning.
– Now Russia, like a drug addict, needs a new dose and expects to get it from the IOC, which seems to have some mysterious historical weakness for dictators. The IOC’s desire to allow the participation of Russians and Belarusians in the Olympic Games under a neutral flag is a shameful intention to collaborate with another genocidal regime.
Kuleba added that the IOC is seeking to turn a blind eye to the crimes and allow the Russian dictator to use sport for propaganda, as Hitler did in 1936.
– “Sport is out of politics,” say supporters of Russian and Belarusian athletes’ participation in international competitions. They prefer to ignore the fact that most of these athletes are active military personnel.
For example, 45 of the 71 medals won by the Russian team at the Tokyo Olympics were won by members of the Central Sports Club of the Russian Army. That is, active Russian soldiers. The Russians themselves have never hidden this, they are proud of it. In Russia, sports, state propaganda, and the army are inseparable,” the minister said.
He emphasizes that Putin has already introduced politics into sports and war crimes. The International Criminal Court has officially issued a warrant for his arrest for the war crime of abducting Ukrainian children. This decision cannot be canceled, Kuleba emphasized.
The Foreign Minister reiterated that the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Olympic Games in Paris or any other international sporting event is unacceptable.
In conclusion, the Minister expressed regret that the IOC systematically fails to find the strength to defend the principles of the Olympic Charter and risks going down in history as an organization that condones aggressors and paves the way for a world without rules. He added that we are not in 1936 and Ukraine does not and will never agree to such a shameful policy.
