Gryzlov on 2nd CIS Games: it’s impossible to deprive our athletes of the future, no matter how the West wants it
This year, the CIS Games promise to reach a new level – as stated in the comments of the Russian Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov, which is published on the website of the Russian diplomatic mission
Boris Gryzlov recalled that the CIS Games were first held in Kazan in 2021. The Russian Federation became the initiator of such a format of competitions in the post-Soviet space.
“This year, the CIS Games promise to reach a new level. Firstly, the Republic of Belarus – as the host country – has done a great job of preparing venues, infrastructure and personnel for holding competitions and receiving a large number of foreign guests. Fans who come to Belarus will have the opportunity to enjoy this sports holiday and to see almost the entire country. In each city where the competitions will be held, presentation programmes, excursions and entertainment venues are organised,” he added, noting that our country has created all the conditions for a comfortable stay for the participating states’ teams and a good rest for the spectators.
The Russian Ambassador also urged to take into account the international context. He recalled that the 2nd CIS Games will be held amid the ongoing sanctions hysteria around Russian and Belarusian sports, in the conditions of the non-admission of our athletes to many international competitions and their outright discrimination based on nationality.
“A range of international sports organisations followed the lead of Western politicians and, apparently, completely rejected the principle of ‘sport outside politics’, which underlies the world sports movement, including the Olympic movement. As a result, international sports officials, dutifully fulfilling the demands of the collective West, are destroying world sport with their own hands. But it is impossible to ‘turn off’ the Sun by closing the curtains and turning off the lights at home,” stressed Boris Gryzlov.
According to the Ambassador, while international tournaments are losing their quality and spectacle, interest in sports is steadily growing in Russia and Belarus.
“Of course, no one will say that sanctions and discrimination have benefited our athletes. Nevertheless, we can absolutely confidently and mathematically accurately state that we have not lost either skills or potential; on the contrary, we continue to progress. With this in mind, the 2nd CIS Games can light up new stars, and in terms of the level of training of athletes in the future become comparable to the European and world championships in a number of disciplines. Probably, it would be appropriate to think about holding a ‘winter version’ of such a sports forum, especially since all the necessary infrastructure is available for this,” Boris Gryzlov shared his opinion.
At the same time, he noted that neither Russia nor Belarus intend to isolate themselves from the world sports movement. Our countries remain among its most important participants, and no sanctions or prohibitions can change this.
“We are approaching the opening 2nd CIS Games countries with the full understanding that our athletes cannot be ‘left behind’ and cannot be deprived of their future, no matter how much Western politicians and sports bureaucrats want. This tournament has become not just a good tradition, but an independent and significant sporting event. I am sure that it has a great future, and the results and achievements of the athletes participating in the Games will be a clear confirmation of this,” the diplomat concluded.
