RUSSIAN FLAGS CANNOT BE SHOWN IN PARIS IN 2024, ACCORDING TO FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) should decide whether or not Russian athletes will compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Paris, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.

Though it may back down if athletes from war allies Russia and Belarus compete under a neutral flag rather than their country’s colors, Ukraine has vowed to boycott the Olympics.

“There is no question that the Russian flag cannot fly at the Paris Games; I believe that everyone agrees on that. Because of its war crimes and child deportations, Russia is not welcome as a nation, Macron told French sports publication L’Equipe.

What position can be provided to Russian athletes is the genuine issue that the Olympic organization should address; this is a matter that shouldn’t be politicized.

He added that Ukrainians ought to be present at IOC meetings on the subject.

Numerous cities have been demolished, millions of people have been relocated, and the economy has been severely impacted by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Early in the invasion, Russian forces staged their unsuccessful assault on Kyiv in Belarus.

Regardless of the flag those two countries’ athletes compete under, some Ukrainian athletes perceive their nation’s current blanket prohibition on competing against Russians and Belarusians as a self-inflicted wound harming sports stars’ careers.