Stanislav Pozdnyakov:
– First of all, I would like to emphasize how important I think the statement is for the Russian and Belarusian athletes. Participants at today’s IOC summit agreed that there is no reason for further suspension of athletes. This means that our athletes can return to the international stage in the near future to compete in Olympic qualifying events.
Yes, of course, that would at least require the IOC to revoke the current recommendations, but the overall content and thrust of today’s discussion is, in my opinion, a victory for sports diplomacy and common sense.
I believe that the efforts of the Russian Foreign Ministry and many of our colleagues have played an important role in this, not through useless and sometimes harmful talk, but through purposeful, constructive work. Thus, what until recently few people believed in could soon become reality.
Today, the international Olympic community has adopted a consolidated position that meets basic humanitarian, sporting and moral criteria.
