Following the first day of the extended meeting of the ROC Athletes’ Commission, Stanislav Pozdnyakov and Viktor Lukashenko discussed the main topics of the event with journalists.
– Athletes posed relevant and sometimes pressing questions to the leaders of national sports. A direct and candid dialogue occurred, which was the reason why we decided four years ago to organize regular meetings in this format. With the participation of our friends from the Republic of Belarus. We are confronted with similar challenges, and the event demonstrated that we are not divided; we remain united and prepared to confront these challenges together, emphasized Stanislav Pozdnyakov.
His colleague from Belarus agreed that important and serious topics had been raised.
– From the questions the participants asked, we could see what they cared about. Belarusian athletes have very similar problems,” said Viktor Lukashenko.
Journalists, as well as the athletes themselves, were primarily interested in matters related to participation in international competitions and the outlook for returning to the international arena.
– Boycotting the Games is a road to nowhere. We remember the experience of 1980-84, when athletes were unable to participate in competitions and a political boycott led to exclusively negative results: neither side won. It confirmed that sport needs to distance itself from politics.
Another question is on what terms the IOC is now proposing to return our athletes. We have talked about this a lot today. Everyone has to make a moral choice – whether to endure the ordeal alongside their already suspended teammates or agree to a neutral status with all the consequences that come with it,” Stanislav Pozdnyakov said.
At the same time, the speakers noted that they do not expect the situation to be resolved in time for the participation of national teams at the Paris Games.
