KRASNOYARSK, October 22. /TASS/. Russia strongly supports the idea that all countries should have the right to participate in international sports competitions, Russian Sports Minister and Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) President Mikhail Degtyarev said on Thursday.
"The International Olympic Committee [IOC] has reinstated the Russian Olympic Committee on July 7 of this year. It lifted all restrictions and revoked all previous discriminatory decrees; the implementation [of the IOC decisions] is underway at the level of [sports] federations," he said at the "More Than Sport: The New Role of National Olympic Committees" session at the 14th Russia: Country of Sports international sports forum in Krasnoyarsk.
"The process is underway, and it will eventually be brought to completion. Russia advocates for the integrity of sport, not just in the interests of Russia and Belarus, but in the interests of the entire world," he noted.
"Russia has never wished for any foreign national team to be suspended; we have always advocated for sport to remain unified," Degtyarev continued.
"Numerous voices are being heard across the world today asking, ‘Why does the Israeli [national] team keep competing, why are the Americans still taking part? We [Russia] do not share such calls. We have never wished for anyone to be barred. We are in favor of the teams from Russia and Belarus competing," the Russian sports minister said.
The 14th Russia: Country of Sports annual international sports forum is taking place in Russia’s second-largest Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk on October 21-23 with the support of the Russian government and the Sports Ministry. The event is organized by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Krasnoyarsk Region government. TASS is the official information partner of the forum.
The annual forum was established in 2009 by a decree of the Russian president to promote physical culture and sport, international sports cooperation, and a healthy lifestyle.