Olympic Committee ‘Discredited Itself Entirely’ over Israel – Lavrov

November 2, 2023

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. (Photo: Mueller / MSC, via Wikimedia Commons)

“Whatever fits the interests of the West, mainly the US, they support and look for formulas to make it work,” the Russian foreign minister said.

The International Olympic Committee’s position that Israeli athletes aren’t responsible for the actions of their government is “outrageous” given the IOC’s blanket ban on Russia on those very grounds, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.

“The IOC has discredited itself entirely,” Lavrov told reporters, accusing the body of “demonstrating its political activism time and again.”

“Whatever fits the interests of the West, mainly the US, they support and look for formulas to make it work,” the Russian foreign minister added.

‘Changing Shoes’ 

According to Russian Sports Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, the IOC “changed shoes in mid-air” in order to accommodate Israel and the conflict endorsed by the US.

On Wednesday, the German agency DPA published a statement by an IOC spokesperson warning the participants of the upcoming Paris Olympics not to engage in any “discriminatory behavior” against Israeli athletes.

“The IOC is committed to the concept of individual responsibility and athletes cannot be held responsible for the actions of their governments,” the spokesman said, adding that if anything like that happens, the IOC will “ensure that swift action is taken, as during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.”

During the Tokyo games, Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine withdrew from the competition to avoid a possible match with Israel’s Tohar Butbul. Nourine and his coach were both punished by the IOC with a 10-year ban.

Meanwhile, the IOC’s position on Ukrainians refusing to face athletes from Russia and Belarus – already forced to compete under neutral flags – is to “encourage .. the necessary degree of sensitivity.”

Anti-Israeli Protests 

Anti-Israeli protests continue to grow all over the world as a result of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, starting on October 7.

Israel has, thus far, killed over 9,061 Palestinians in Gaza, including nearly 4,000 children, and wounded more than 32,000. Palestinian Ministry of Health reports and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

Despite a massive Israeli military buildup around the Gaza borders and sporadic infiltrations on the outskirts of the besieged Strip, Palestinian Resistance continues to repel Israeli attacks.

To justify its military failure, the Israeli army continues to pound civilian homes throughout the Gaza Strip with new massacres reported everywhere in the besieged enclave.

Gaza has been under a tight Israeli military siege since 2007, following a democratic election in occupied Palestine, the results of which were rejected by Tel Aviv and Washington.

(RT, PC)