Did Ukraine boycott the Olympics? Minister: “No hasty decisions”

Ukraine will announce its decision to boycott later. ZumaWire / MVPHOTOS

The International Olympic Committee made a shocking decision on Friday when it decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Summer Olympics in Paris. Athletes are allowed to compete without country symbols.

Minister of Sports of Russia Oleg Matitsin called the conditions set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the participation of Russian athletes in the Olympics “discriminatory”.

The IOC’s decision arouses great emotions as Russia continues to wage a brutal war of aggression in Ukraine. The decision dismayed Ukrainians in particular.

Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Matviy Bidnyi said Saturday that Ukraine must consider whether participating in the Paris Olympics is in the country’s interests.

– Participation is impossible unless the IOC changes its “non-constructive position”, Bidnyi said.

Earlier, the minister had commented on the IOC’s decision as irresponsible and said that Ukraine would condemn it. According to him, Ukraine could participate in the Olympics if the country’s leaders came to the conclusion that it would promote Ukraine’s position in the world.

– The decision on (Ukraine’s) participation should be made based on what it brings to the country, what the reaction is and how much it brings us closer to victory, he said, referring to the war.

– We should not make hasty decisions. It will be a balanced decision and we need to communicate that to the public. We weigh the pros and cons very carefully. If we continue with the IOC’s absolutely non-constructive position and continue to tolerate the participation of the minions of the bloody Russian regime, it will make it impossible for us to participate.

The minister said that Ukraine will make a decision about participating in the Olympics later.

Bidnyi’s comments were reported by the news agency Reuters.