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.
- On January 25, it became known that Russian and Belarusian athletes were recommended to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris under a neutral flag. At the same time, the IOC will check each athlete for compliance with the rules of the Olympic Charter and the World Anti-Doping Code. In particular, they will be required not to support the war in Ukraine. In case of non-compliance with the conditions, the participant will be eliminated. In response to such a position, Zelensky invited the head of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach to Bakhmut so that he would understand that neutrality does not exist.
- 35 countries opposed the admission of Russians and Belarusians to international sports competitions due to the war in Ukraine.
- The head of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach supported the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Olympic Games under a neutral flag.
- On March 31, the Government of Ukraine decided that Ukrainian athletes will not participate in tournaments where Russians and Belarusians will compete. The International Olympic Committee criticized this decision, emphasizing that "governments do not decide which athletes can participate in which international competitions."