Russia has spoken out about athletes from unfriendly countries at the Friendship Games

State Duma deputy and Olympic champion in speed skating Svetlana Zhurova supported the idea of ​​​​participation of athletes from unfriendly countries in the World Friendship Games – sports competitions that will be held in Russia in the fall. Zhurova answered the question about inviting athletes from the relevant countries in a conversation with Lenta.ru.

“Certainly [стоит приглашать спортсменов из недружественных стран к участию в Играх дружбы]. Friendship games are about friendship, not politics. On the contrary, they need to be invited, and I hope that someone will dare to come,” the parliamentarian said.

In March, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) accused the Russian Federation of politicizing sports, violating the Olympic Charter and disrespecting athletes for hosting the Friendship Games. Later, IOC head Thomas Bach said that participants in the Friendship Games in Russia may have problems with the Olympic Games.

In addition, the President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Witold Banka, also spoke about the participation of countries in the Friendship Games in Russia. He said that the participation of countries in the Friendship Games is a political issue. “I believe that federations should avoid participating, committees and countries should also avoid participating in this event. The idea of ​​holding the Friendship Games is slightly contrary to the Olympic Games,” said the head of WADA.

The World Friendship Games will be held from September 15 to 29, 2024 in Yekaterinburg and Moscow. The competition will feature 33 summer sports, both Olympic and non-Olympic. The decision to hold the event was initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in October 2023. It was emphasized that the initiative will be implemented in order to ensure guaranteed free access of Russian athletes and sports organizations to international sports activities and the development of new formats of international sports cooperation.