Guardian: British authorities put pressure on the IOC to prevent Russians from attending the 2024 Olympics

The UK government has written an open letter to the biggest sponsors of the Olympic Games. The Cabinet of Ministers called on corporations to put pressure on the International Olympic Committee to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the 2024 Games in Paris and other international competitions, even in a neutral status. This was reported by The Guardian newspaper.

The publication quoted from the letter. It says that the British do not agree with the return of Belarusians and Russians to the competition, while there is no “extreme clarity and specific details regarding a workable model of neutrality.”

Earlier, British Minister of Culture, Media and Sports Lucy Fraser appealed to the heads of the British branches of transnational corporations to put pressure on the IOC because of concerns about the admission of Russians and Belarusians to the competition.

At the end of January, the IOC leadership proposed to soften the ban and allow those athletes who do not actively participate in supporting a special military operation to participate in international competitions. True, with a caveat – subject to several conditions and in a neutral status. Subsequently, the President of the Russian Olympic Committee, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, clarified that the IOC does not require Russian athletes to condemn the special operation, as it was originally presented.