Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. wants to bring the occupiers back to the Olympic Games.
The Ministry and the Ministry of Sports of Ukraine prepared a joint statement condemning the statements of the candidate for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee, the current vice-president of the organization Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr.
According to “Ukrainska Pravda”, the government is outraged that the sports official, if elected to the post of head of the world Olympic movement, intends to “work hard to restore Russia's membership in the IOC.”
Samaranch explains his position by the alleged “need for the IOC not to take sides in conflicts” and calls Russia's attack on Ukraine “one of more than forty armed confrontations in the world.”
Ministers Andrei Sibiga and Matvey Bedny believe that the desire to justify the aggressor is incompatible with the position of president of the International Olympic Committee. The official's proposals for the return of the Russians are “categorically unacceptable and outrageous.”
- In addition to Samaranch Jr., six other functionaries are vying for the post of IOC head. The elections are scheduled for March 2025.
- Samaranch's father was IOC president from 1980 to 2001 and was named honorary life president of the organization for his services in promoting the Olympic movement.