Belarus, Russia to protect sportsmen’s interests
A meeting of the Belarusian and Russian sports departments’ working group took place in Moscow – as reported by Belarus’ National Olympic Committee
The meeting participants discussed a format of joint competitions and training events, including the possibility of Russian and Belarusian athletes’ participation in national competitions of each country. The sides summed up the results of the negotiations of the national sports federations’ leaders.
The heads of the Belarusian sports federations of football, volleyball, hockey, athletics, swimming, wrestling, speed skating, biathlon and also the Olympic training centres held meetings with their Russian colleagues and, according to Aleksandr Baraulyua, Belarus’ Deputy Minister of Sports and Tourism, the main purpose of the Belarusians’ visit was to support the interests of athletes and coaches who have suffered the most in the current situation.
“It is very important for us that athletes understand that no one will be forgotten, and that competitions will be held. The current situation is just a temporary period, and we will become stronger together. In addition, this is a unique opportunity to look into our internal reserves. We have the opportunity to be stronger."
"We will protect the interests of athletes as much as possible, including from the legal side. However, at the same time, we are not going into isolation, but continue to interact since reasonable voices are also heard in the international sports community. Many sports figures say that discriminatory measures have been taken against Belarusian and Russian sports. We hope our teams will return to international sports as soon as possible," Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said.
Following the meeting, it was decided to prepare a register of sporting goods and equipment produced in the both countries, and also to expand co-operation in the scientific sports sphere.
