The UK government has sent a letter to the largest sponsors of the Olympic Games urging them to put pressure on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the 2024 Games, even in neutral status, TASS reports citing The Guardian newspaper.
The head of the country’s culture, media and sports ministry, Lucy Fraser, has urged British executives from the IOC’s international partner companies, including Coca-Cola, Intel, Samsung and Visa, to put pressure on the IOC over “a number of serious concerns” about a potential easing of the ban.
Specifically, the letter emphasizes that “until our concerns and lack of utmost clarity and specific details regarding a workable model of neutrality are addressed, we do not agree that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to return to competition.”
Recall, on January 25, the IOC proposed to allow Russians and Belarusians who do not take an active part in supporting the special military operation (SVO) to international competitions in a neutral status and subject to a number of conditions. This caused criticism from some representatives of the world community.
Source: Rosbalt
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