|
"We
propose to intensify the practice of holding competitions in an
open format with the invitation of partner countries," The
Kremlin's official website reported Matytsin as saying.
"We continue to fulfil your (Putin's) instruction to organise
the World Friendship Games in the autumn of 2024.
"We consider it necessary to use the resources of both Russian
and international public and state organisations to the maximum
for the successful holding of the Games, which should be held on
a regular basis in the future."
Athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus have been largely
frozen out of international competition by federations in the
wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a
"special military operation".
Some Olympic sports such as archery, canoeing, cycling, fencing,
judo, modern pentathlon, table tennis, taekwondo and triathlon
have readmitted athletes from the two countries but athletics
has not.
The International Olympic Committee has recommended that Russian
and Belarusian athletes be allowed to return to international
competition as neutrals though it has yet to take a final
decision on their participation at the Paris Games.
FRIENDLY TIES
Last year, Russia held a competition called the Solidarity Games
with the aim of "strengthening of international friendly ties
between states".
The Friendship Games were first organised in 1984 in the Soviet
Union and eight other socialist states which boycotted the 1984
Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Around 50 countries took part with the Soviets dominating with
126 golds followed by East Germany with 50.
In 1986, Ted Turner, the billionaire founder of cable news
channel CNN, created the Goodwill Games in response to the
political troubles surrounding the Olympics of the 1980s.
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 led the United States
and other Western countries to boycott the 1980 Summer Games in
Moscow.
Four years later, the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc
countries, except Romania, boycotted the Los Angeles Games.
The first edition of the Goodwill Games was staged in Moscow in
1986 and the last in Brisbane in 2001. The event was eventually
cancelled due to poor television ratings.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
