Norwegians announce an exception to the boycott of Russian athletes. “We want to keep the channels open”

After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, athletes from this country (and also from Belarus) ceased to exist in the international arena. Within a few days, most of the world’s federations decided to exclude them from competing. In addition, similar sanctions have been imposed by national federations that do not want athletes from aggressor countries to appear on their territory.

Norway allows an exception to the sanctions for Russian and Belarusian athletes

One country that has decided to boycott Russian athletes is. This is a big blow, and also a signal to other countries. Many competitions take place on its territory, and in these the Russians are a power.

As noted by Anette Tretteberstuen, Minister of Culture and Equality, the country supports international decisions to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from high-level competitions. In addition, she called for Belarus not to be able to apply for, participate in or host international sporting events.

It turns out, however, that the Norwegians allow some exceptions within their own sanctions. – I would like to emphasize that we want to exclude athletes and teams of the highest sports level from the games, and not from children’s, youth and mass sports. We want to keep the interpersonal channels open for as long as possible – said the head of the ministry.

Russians are reacting to sanctions. They organized their own games, they mocked the media

The international sanctions also provoked reactions on the Russian side. . These were deprived of the right to participate in the ongoing event in Beijing just before its start.

The media from the aggressor’s country also mock the sanctions. – Without us, it’s a second-class competition. However, our people will still perform under the flags of Poland, Georgia and the USA. Why and who will watch it? -. In addition, they posted a photo of the Polish skater Jekaterina Kurakowa.