According to Kallas, innocent people die every day in the war in Ukraine, and as of February 24, 2022, nothing has changed. “Meanwhile, thousands of Ukrainian children, women and men have died, thousands of people have been deported and homes have been destroyed – the list goes on and on. In this light it is simply inappropriate to talk about the rights of Russian athletes now,” Kallas said.
“On February 24, 2022, all the countries of the free and democratic world were convinced that Russia should be kept out of everything. It is sad now, when almost two years have passed since the beginning of the war, to read another story. The Ukrainians have the right to life and their country, and this cannot be compared with the right to participate in the Olympic Games.”
Kallas said he knows many current and former Ukrainian athletes. “I have shared the competition arena at the stadium with them many times, participated in joint training for weeks in the fields, offered them good training conditions in Saaremaa and felt their hospitality when I visited Kiev many years ago. I know how much an independent country is important to them and they fight and compete for it,” Kallas said.
He noted that to date, many Ukrainian athletes have had to choose to fight instead of compete, and many of them have even had to give up their lives. “Throughout history, the Olympic Games have symbolized peace. I am convinced that Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be allowed to participate in the Olympic Games until the war in Ukraine continues and the integrity of Ukraine as an independent state has been restored .”
2023-12-08 16:51:00
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