The text of the following statement was agreed upon by the ministers of sport or their equivalent from the countries and individuals listed at the bottom of the statement.
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Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable war of choice against Ukraine, enabled by the Belarusian government, is abhorrent and a flagrant breach of its international obligations. Respect for human rights and peaceful relations between nations form the foundation of international sport.
We, as a collective of like-minded nations, affirm our support for international sport organizations’ position that:
* Russia and Belarus should not be permitted to host, bid for, or be awarded any international sporting events.
* Individual athletes selected by Russia and Belarus, administrators and teams representing the Russian or Belarusian state should be banned from competing in other countries, including those representing bodies, cities or brands that are effectively representing Russia or Belarus, such as major football clubs.
* Wherever possible, appropriate actions should be taken to limit sponsorship and other financial support from entities with links to the Russian or Belarusian states.
We call on all international sport federations to endorse these principles, and applaud all those that have done so already. We also welcome the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to prevent Russia’s and Belarus’ athletes from competing in the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing. These restrictions should be in place until cooperation under the fundamental principles of international law has become possible again.
We encourage all international sport organizations and all relevant legal bodies not to sanction athletes, coaches or officials who decide to unilaterally terminate their contracts with Russian, Belarusian or Ukrainian clubs, as well as not to pursue or to sanction sport organizers which decide to ban athletes or teams selected by Russia or Belarus.
Furthermore, we encourage the international sport community to continue to show its solidarity with the people of Ukraine, including through supporting the continuation of Ukrainian sport where possible.
Signed by the following ministers or their equivalents:
Source: U.S Department of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
