Almost a third of the Lithuanian population is in favour of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to allow individual Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Olympic Games, according to a survey commissioned by LRT.
The survey showed that 30 percent of respondents approve of the IOC’s decision to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete in this year’s Paris Olympics under a neutral flag, while 56 percent are against it.
In early December, the IOC decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the Olympics, except in team events, if they do not actively support the war in Ukraine. Both, the Lithuanian Olympic Committee and the Education, Science and Sports Ministry object to this decision.
“The ministry’s position has remained unchanged since the beginning of the aggression in Ukraine by Russia and Belarus, which supports it. As long as the war continues, athletes from these countries should not take part in any international competitions, neither as representatives of their own countries nor as neutrals,” the Education, Science and Sports Ministry said in a written reply to LRT.lt.
Further reading
The representative survey of 1,017 adult Lithuanian residents was carried out by Baltijos Tyrimai on December 15-30.
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