PERM, October 19. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks that the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) approach to participation requirements in the Olympic Games goes against what sports is all about in the first place.

"We have also learned, and heard, that the Olympic Charter is supposedly outdated and is not universal anymore. Some sports officials are usurping the right to determine who is governed by the Olympic Charter and who is not. Such an approach contradicts the spirit of sports," the Russian leader said at the 11th International Sports Forum "Russia - Country of Sports" held in the city of Perm in the Urals.

That said, Putin asserted that there are certain values that cannot be destroyed, canceled, bought or sold. In his opinion, the unifying power of sports is among them. "Actually, this is the whole point of international sports movements," he said.