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Ukrainian athletes barred from Olympic qualifiers with Russians

President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach on Thursday expressed hope that Ukraine won’t boycott 2024 Summer Olympic Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to participate

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Ukrainian athletes will not participate in qualification events for the 2024 Summer Olympics if Russian athletes are also taking part, said Oleg Nemchinov, the secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and a member of the National Olympic Committee’s executive board.

"We have made a protocol decision that we will participate only in qualification events where no Russians take part. Respectively, participation in events that do not correspond to this requirement may be a basis for stripping a [sporting] federation of its national status," he said on TV.

President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach on Thursday expressed hope that Ukraine won’t boycott 2024 Summer Olympic Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to participate.

The IOC recommended on March 28 that international federations allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral status, while they would not be able to take part in team events. Another condition is that the athletes should not be supporters of the special military operation or be affiliated with the armed forces or national security agencies.

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