– For everyone who cares about Ukraine and their athletes, this is a serious setback, says sports commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt in news. At the congress in Bahrain, Norwegian representatives are dismayed by the outcome. Russia may participate as a neutral. – There is a tense atmosphere at the lunch in the Nordic countries, says assistant general secretary Else Marthe Sørlie Lybekk of the Norwegian Sports Confederation. DISAPPOINTED: Assistant General Secretary Else Marthe Sørlie Lybekk in the Norwegian Sports Confederation. Photo: NTB At the congress in Bahrain, the members voted on whether Russia should be completely excluded from the summer games in France. The outcome here was that 74 voted against, while 65 voted for exclusion. 13 abstained from voting. – This cannot be called anything other than a great victory for Putin and his regime, and we can be sure that this decision will be exploited for all it is worth for propaganda purposes. Unfortunately, this also creates a precedent that makes the road to Russian and Belarusian participation in the Olympics in Paris quite a lot shorter, says Saltvedt. On Friday afternoon, it also became clear that Belarusian athletes will be allowed to participate. 74 voted against a complete ban, while 56 voted for it. 15 abstained from voting. Congress later voted on whether Russian and Belarusian athletes should be partially banned. Here, 90 voted for and 56 against regarding Russia, while 79 voted for and 57 against regarding Belarus, which means that the athletes cannot compete under their own flag. Instead, they will be able to participate as neutral performers. Skarstein participates Vice-president Arne Dalhaug of the Norwegian Sports Confederation is also present. – You have served in Ukraine. How does it feel here for you? – It was powerful to hear the contribution of the Ukrainian representative, who talked about the consequences for para sports, he says. Dalhaug was a civilian observer for the OSCE in Ukraine between 2016 and 2018. Birgit Skarstein is among the delegates attending the general assembly in Bahrain. She participates as a member of the athlete committee in IPC. news has tried to contact Skarstein. The 34-year-old assists in the vote count and cannot comment on the outcome until all the votes have been completed. PRESENT: Birgit Skarstein is attending the congress in Bahrain. The photo was taken on an earlier occasion Photo: Synne Sofie Christiansen / news Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, four days after the Winter Olympics in Beijing and eight days before the Paralympic Games were opened in the same place. The invasion took place during the “Olympic Peace”, which is supposed to ensure a ceasefire between the participating nations in the two months surrounding the Olympics and Paralympics. Russia has violated the Olympic peace treaty on two further occasions: when it invaded the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and when it became involved in the conflict between Georgia and the pro-Russian breakaway republic of South Ossetia in 2008.
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Russia can participate in the Paralympics – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
