“The statement from the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach during the G20 meeting claiming that international sport should not become a tool for achieving political goals is far from sincere,” Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko stated.
According to the minister, Bach's "performance at the G20 is little more than a facade, an attempt to veil ongoing and clear politically motivated acts by the IOC. The absence of any concrete IOC proposals to ensure the application of this claim during the G20 meeting is direct proof of that.”
In his speech at the G20 summit on November 15, the IOC president claimed that the fundamental goal of the Olympic and Paralympic Games was "bringing the whole world together in peaceful competition, without any discrimination whatsoever." He went on to insist that the Olympics can unite the world only if athletes from all over the world participate in it.
However, as Chernyshenko pointed out, in less than a year, thanks to decisions made by Bach and other functionaries, Russian athletes were suspended from all possible international competitions, while Paralympic athletes were banned from attending the Games in Beijing, when most of them had already arrived in China for training.
"This rhetoric from Bach is no epiphany,” Chernyshenko added.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, as a result of Bach's continued "behind the scenes" lobbying, international federations are amending their charters and creating precedents for the subsequent exclusion of Russian sports federations from their ranks.
In his address, Bach also ventured to say that if sports were to become another tool for political goals, it would fall apart.
"Olympic sport needs the participation of all athletes who accept the rules, even and especially if their countries are in confrontation or at war. A competition between athletes from only like-minded states is not a credible symbol of peace," Bach said.
Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned from international competitions after the IOC issued a recommendation to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from international competitions or only allow them to compete in neutral status in late March 2022 following the launch of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.
Most sport federations have complied, with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) suspending the membership of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) in the organization on November 16.