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Poland plans to unite world to keep Russia, Belarus barred from 2024 Paris Olympics

Kamil Bortniczuk said that Poland was not currently considering the option of boycotting the 2024 Summer Olympics

MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. Polish Minister of Sport and Tourism Kamil Bortniczuk revealed a plan on Thursday to form a coalition of 36 countries, which will bar the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

"We are in the process of forming a coalition of 36 countries," Bortniczuk said speaking on the air with RMF FM radio.

"We have a scheduled meeting of the EU Sports Council on May 15, where we plan to pass a declaration that will reject the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the global arena," the Polish minister stated.

Bortniczuk also said that Poland was not currently considering the option of boycotting the 2024 Summer Olympics.

In February of this year, more than 30 countries, including Great Britain, the United States, Japan and a number of EU member states, spoke out in favor of banning athletes representing Russia and Belarus from participating in international sports competitions. Some countries voiced their intention to boycott the Olympic Games should Russian and Belarusian athletes be allowed to compete in them.

The IOC stated at that time that governments must not interfere in or impinge upon the autonomy of the world of sports; otherwise, it may cease to exist in its present form. The IOC also expressed hope that countries would not boycott the (2024 Summer Olympic) Games, because previous boycotts had ultimately produced no positive results.

The IOC recommended on March 28 that international federations allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral status, although they would still be barred from team events. In addition, athletes must not be supporters of the special military operation or be affiliated with the armed forces or national security agencies.

On March 31, Oleg Nemchinov, a member of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee’s executive board and a government minister, said that Ukrainian athletes would not take part in any qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics in which Russians were participating.

On April 14, Ukrainian lawmaker Zhan Belenyuk published a decree issued by the country’s Youth and Sports Ministry banning Ukrainian athletes from participating in events where Russians and Belarusians are also taking part. Any sports federations found to have violated the decree would be cut off from state funding.

After Tokyo hosted the Olympic flame at the Summer Games in 2020, it is now slated to travel to Paris for the Summer Games in 2024, and then on to Los Angeles in 2028. In 2021, at the 138th session of the IOC in Tokyo, Brisbane, Australia, was selected to host the 2032 Summer Olympic Games.

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