Viktor Lukashenko: any time of crisis is a time of opportunities

The 2nd National Athletes Forum has started at the headquarters of the NOC of Belarus, bringing together more than 250 current and former athletes, world and Olympic champions, as well as marketing specialists, coaches and other professionals of the sports industry. The forum was opened by the President of the National Olympic Committee of Belarus, Viktor Lukashenko, and the President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), Stanislav Pozdnyakov.

“We are very grateful to the Russian Olympic Committee for responding to our proposal a month ago and bringing such a representative delegation of athletes, functionaries, and coaches, enabling us to discuss a number of issues and useful initiatives on the sidelines of these meetings,” said the NOC President.

Being asked about what joint sports projects are already ready and how to resist the total politicisation of sports, Viktor Lukashenko responded, “The situation is not easy, but any time of crisis is a time of opportunities. We already have a number of joint competitions and projects in which our athletes take part. A joint handball league has recently been established. Many more joint projects will be implemented in the near future. We are moving in this direction.”