BUCHAREST, March 6. /TASS/. Foreign state officials should refrain from making statements on behalf of other countries, President of the Romanian Paralympic Committee Eduard Novak said on Friday.
The statement by the Romanian sports official comes in the wake of Ukrainian Interior Minister Andrey Sibiga’s earlier voiced allegations that Romania would be among other countries to officially boycott the Official Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy on the night of March 6.
"I just don’t know where this information comes from. I don't understand why a minister from a foreign country can speak on behalf of Romania," the Agerpres news agency quoted Novak as saying while adding that the Winter Paralympic Games are an apolitical event in all senses.
On March 4, Ukrainian Interior Minister Sibiga stated on his X social network account that a number of countries, including Romania, had confirmed that their officials would not attend the Official Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Paralympic Games on March 6 in protest against the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
French Sports Minister Marina Ferrari announced earlier in the week that France had decided against sending its official state representatives to the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy because of athletes from Russia and Belarus taking part in it under their national flags.
Last month, delegations from Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland announced their decision to boycott the official Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympics because of Russia’s participation in the event.
President of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) Pavel Rozhkov told TASS in February that six Russian Para athletes had received bipartite invitations to the 2026 Winter Paralympics.
The invitations were extended to three-time Paralympic Champion in alpine skiing Aleksey Bugayev, two-time World Champion in alpine skiing Varvara Voronchikhina, multiple World Champion in para cross-country skiing Ivan Golubkov, World Championship medalist in para cross-country skiing Anastasia Bagiyan and her guide Sergey Sinyakin, and para snowboarders Dmitry Fadeyev and Philipp Shebbo Monzer.
Russian Sports Minister and President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Mikhail Degtyarev announced last Wednesday that the country’s national delegation at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy would consist of 23 members.
The 2026 Winter Paralympic Games will be held in Italy on March 6-15. The Russian Paralympians were allowed to compete at the upcoming Winter Paralympics under the national flag to the tune of the country’s anthem. RPC President Rozhkov also announced last week that Russian Paralympians would take part in the Parade of Athletes at the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy next month under the national flag.
2026 Winter Paralympic Games
On January 20, the IPC revised its decision regarding the admission of the Russian national team to the 2026 Paralympics, allowing cross-country skiers, snowboarders as well as alpine skiers to apply for invitations. In September 2025, the General Assembly of the International Paralympic Committee fully reinstated the Paralympic Committees of Russia and Belarus.
However, on October 23, 2025, the IPC press office announced that Russians would not be competing at the 2026 Paralympic Games due to the stance taken by certain sports federations. In particular, the Council of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) decided not to allow Russians to participate in international competitions, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The RPC later successfully challenged that decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).