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Germany’s statement on Russian athletes’ visas attack on sports independence — diplomat

According to Maria Zakharova, "such statements and steps on behalf of Western officials contradict the fundamental principles of the Olympic Movement"

MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. Germany’s top security official’s recent statement about possibly denying entry visas to Russian athletes is an affront on the sovereignty of sports, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on Wednesday.

"This is another attempted encroachment on the independence of sports and on keeping politics out of this sphere," Zakharova said speaking at a news briefing.

The diplomat stressed that such developments are taking place "against the backdrop of excessive sanctions that are in force against the Russian sports sphere solely for political reasons."

According to Zakharova, "such statements and steps on behalf of Western officials contradict the fundamental principles of the Olympic Movement."

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who also oversees sports issues in the country, stated on Monday that Russian athletes could be denied entry visas if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) clears them to participate in international events.

At its session on January 25, 2023, the IOC Executive Board put forward a proposal to permit individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international sports tournaments, but only under certain conditions.

Athletes from the two countries should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status. Russia and Belarus were also banned from participating in international team events.

Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) President Stanislav Pozdnyakov called these recommendations absolutely unacceptable as they would lead to a split in Russian sports. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov slammed the IOC’s recommendations as discriminatory.

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