The United Nations, along with the organizers of this yearʼs Winter Olympics, have called for a pause in all armed conflicts around the world.
This initiative was supported by the UN General Assembly, Euronews writes.
This is the so-called Olympic truce, which is supposed to last a total of 52 days.
It covers the period of the Winter Olympic Games in Italy from February 6 to 22 and the Paralympic Games from March 6 to 15, and also includes an additional week before and after each of these events.
"For ethical reasons, we want to make it clear that the sacred Olympic Truce must be respected. In practice, this is not always possible, but the message reaches every corner of the world," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The idea of stopping world conflicts for the duration of the Olympic Games is not new. As far back as ancient Greece, warring states would stop fighting so that athletes and spectators could safely reach Olympia. The idea was revived in its modern form in the early 1990s, during the wars in Yugoslavia.
For example, such a truce helped temporarily halt the siege of Sarajevo during the 1994 Olympics in Norway. And during the 2000 Games in Sydney, North Korea and the DPRK marched together at the opening ceremony.
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