Lithuaniaparliament called on Friday International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other sports organizations will ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competitions until the war in Ukraine is over, war criminals are prosecuted and compensation is paid.
The parliamentary resolution said it was certain that victories by Russian or Belarusian athletes at the Olympics and elsewhere would be used for propaganda purposes by the governments of Moscow and Minsk.
He spearheaded the call for athletes from Ukraine, Russia and its close ally Belarus to be banned from the European Union. Paris 2024 Games after the IOC in January, he said, open to the neutral inclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes.
More than 30 countries, including the US, UK and France, pledged support for the ban in February, and Russia described it as “unacceptable”.
The Lithuanian parliament, which unanimously passed the motion, became the first national legislature to call for a ban, according to the country’s ministry of education, science and sports.
Last week, African Olympic committees passed a resolution supporting the impartial participation of athletes in the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
Reuters