Belarus’ NOC to continue dialogue with international sports federations

Viktor Lukashenko, the President of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus, said before the opening of the 3rd National Athletes’ Forum that Belarus would continue the dialogue with international sports federations, even despite the fact that some of them make incomprehensible decisions regarding Belarusian athletes, BelTA reports

According to the Head of Belarus’ NOC, recently the International Olympic Committee (IOC) seems to have taken steps towards the Belarusian and Russian athletes. However, all decisions were left to the mercy of international sports federations.

Viktor Lukashenko stressed that the ‘thaw’ from the IOC is far from summer yet. The pressure on Belarusian and Russian athletes continues. Moreover, some countries began to ban their athletes from taking part in tournaments with the participation of Belarusians and Russians, and even call for donating part of the prize money to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The NOC President also noted that a lot of work is being done to clarify the conditions for the admission of Belarusian athletes to international tournaments, and we are not yet talking about the Olympic qualification and the Olympics itself.

“There should be some kind of red line that we cannot cross: only with respect for our country and our athletes, we will take part in competitions. We will not rush into a whirlpool, if only we were allowed to participate in tournaments. There’re certain principles that we will adhere to,” Viktor Lukashenko stressed.