“Focus on the games”
IOC chief Bach will not speak to Putin
02/13/2022 06:41 am
In ancient times, there was a peace rule during the Olympic Games. In modern times this has been broken. In view of the Ukraine conflict, IOC chief Bach does not want to speak to Russian President Putin.
In the Ukraine conflict, IOC chief Thomas Bach is unlikely to make a personal appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to uphold the Olympic truce. “I assume he (Bach) will concentrate on the games. I don’t know, but I think that’s unlikely,” said Mark Adams, spokesman for the International Olympic Committee, in Beijing when asked whether Bach was with Putin because of a possible military escalation in Ukraine.
In view of the deployment of more than 100,000 Russian soldiers on the border with Ukraine, there are fears that the Kremlin is planning an invasion of the neighboring country. Moscow has vehemently denied this for weeks.
The IOC will focus on its core message of political neutrality, Adams said. However, he referred to Bach’s opening speech at the Beijing Winter Games, in which the German IOC chief used John Lennon’s quote “Give Peace a Chance”.
No punishment for Ukrainian athletes
IOC Olympic Director Christophe Dubi also referred to the symbolic power of the Olympic Games. Before the Winter Games, the UN members had unanimously decided to support the Olympic Truce. “We cannot say often enough what the world would be like if everyone was tolerant and respectful of one another,” said Dubi.
On Friday, Ukrainian skeleton pilot Vladislav Heraskevich showed the cameras a self-made note in the national colors of Ukraine with the inscription “No war in Ukraine” in the finish area of the Yanqing ice track. Despite the ban on political messages during the competitions and award ceremonies at the Olympics, the IOC had refrained from punishing Heraskevich.
According to Adams, the IOC immediately spoke to the skeletoni and his team. As a result, the Ukrainian no longer showed the poster after the final run. “We understood, he didn’t repeat it, it’s moving on,” Adams said.