President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach, during his speech at the General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees in Seoul, announced the extension of sanctions against athletes from Russia and Belarus, which were introduced after the start of the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
“Now we cannot fully fulfill our Olympic mission, which is to unite the whole world through sports competitions. But the only way to continue fulfilling this mission was to recommend to international federations that athletes from Russia and Belarus not be allowed to participate in competitions.
Each of us understands that such measures may also suffer in the future. But we will firmly defend our values and we will not fall into the trap of a propaganda machine that condemns our measures and sanctions. The reasons for these measures are still significant, it is not the time to cancel them. Keep following our recommendations,” Bach said.
