Moscow (dpa)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized the United States and other countries for a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics scheduled for the Chinese capital, Beijing, next February.
“It is an unacceptable and wrong decision,” Putin, 69, said today, Thursday, at his annual press conference in the Russian capital, Moscow.
“We are always against the politicization of sports,” Putin stressed.
The Kremlin leader is preparing to travel to Beijing for the opening of the Winter Olympics, unlike his US counterpart Joe Biden, who will miss the ceremony to protest against China’s human rights record.
Russia was banned from participating as a country in the Olympics, due to the doping scandal, but Russian athletes will compete as neutral players, and American athletes will also be present at the Games.
Putin noted that the diplomatic boycotts, with Australia, Canada and Britain not sending officials in turn, were an attempt to halt development in China, saying: “There can be no other motives behind this.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he had not yet decided on a possible diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games, while French President Emmanuel Macron has already made clear that he does not consider a diplomatic boycott useful.
.