The UK once again expressed its opposition to the participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics of athletes from Russia and Belarus, a helper country that invaded Ukraine.

Reuters reported on the 11th (local time) that the British government sent an open letter to IOC sponsors and asked them to pressure the IOC, which is moving to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris Olympics.토토사이트

The British government sent a letter to the chief executives of 13 TOP (Top Olympic Partner) companies in the UK, the top sponsors of the IOC, including Samsung and Coca-Cola, in the name of British Culture Minister Lucy Fraser.

“We are well aware that politics and sport are very intertwined in Russia and Belarus today. We have concluded that the Russian and Belarusian regimes must not be allowed to use sport for their political propaganda,” Fraser wrote.

“Unless [the IOC] has addressed our concerns, the lack of significant transparency, and clear details of a viable ‘neutral country’ model, we do not agree to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete,” he added.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year, the IOC imposed sanctions on the International Sports Federation (IF) for each event to disallow Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in international competitions.

Although sanctions remain in place, controversy arose when the IOC made a decision in January to conditionally approve Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris Olympics as neutral countries or neutral organizations that cannot use their national flags and national anthems.

The three Baltic countries, including Ukraine, and Eastern and Northern European countries adjacent to Russia immediately protested. They clearly voiced their opposition to the IOC’s decision, and some countries, including Ukraine, are considering boycotting the Paris Olympics.

The UK is a country that strongly opposes the IOC’s ban on permitting athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate. In February, along with the sports ministers of 35 Western countries, including the United States and South Korea, he led a joint statement urging the banning of athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in the Olympics.