Germany will deny visas to Russian athletes if the IOC allows them to participate in international competitions

Author:
Liza Brovko
Date:

Germany will not issue visas to Russian athletes to participate in competitions on its territory, if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allows them to participate in sports events.

As the Minister of the Interior of Germany Nancy Feser stated, the organizers of major sports competitions can control the participation of athletes from Russia with the help of visas. In this case, Germany will act "with a clear position".

According to Feser, the participation of Russians in athletics competitions will be a "slap for Ukrainian athletes" and will provide Putin with a "ground for propaganda."

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba welcomed this statement.

"I welcome Nancy Featherʼs principled position on the need to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes. If international sports officials do not uphold their principles, responsible governments must step in and deny entry to athletes who represent war and state propaganda," Kuleba wrote.