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The western Ukrainian city had entered the fray with Beijing,
Oslo, Almaty and Krakow for the 2022 Games but its bid was
essentially put on hold after Russia moved to occupy parts of
the country including Crimea.
IOC president Thomas Bach held discussions with Ukrainian Prime
Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and the country's President of the
National Olympic Committee (NOC) Sergey Bubka after which they
decided to drop the 2022 bid.
"The decision comes as a result of the present political and
economic circumstances in Ukraine, which were discussed between
the three parties," the IOC said.
"In my discussions with the Ukrainian Prime Minster and NOC
President, we concluded that it would be extremely difficult to
pursue the 2022 bid under the current circumstances, but that a
future bid would make sense for Ukraine and Ukrainian sport,"
Bach said.
His views were echoed by Yatsenyuk.
"...a bid for 2026 would have excellent potential for the
economic recovery of the country, and could have huge benefits
for Ukrainian society," the Ukrainian prime minister said.
Pole vault great Bubka thanked IOC for all the help and
understanding the prevailing situation in Ukraine.
The 2018 Winter Olympics are being held in Pyeongchang, South
Korea.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty; Editing by John O'Brien)
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Lviv
drops 2022 bid, targets 2026 Games: IOC
