NOC president on sanctions against Belarusian sport: We will not keep silent

The Belarusian National Olympic Committee (NOC) held a joint meeting with the Sport and Tourism Ministry and national sports federations to react to the pressure from the IOC and international federations, BelTA learned from the press service of the NOC.

Earlier, the International Olympic Committee recommended that sports federations ban Belarusian and Russian athletes from competitions. This week this recommendation was followed by the international federations of ice hockey (IIHF), volleyball (FIVB), ski (FIS).

"Our task is to convey to the international sports community that we will not keep silent. Given the current conditions, we need to take a number of steps to preserve and develop sports, to build relations with friendly federations of other countries," President of the Belarusian NOC Viktor Lukashenko said.

Belarus' Sport and Tourism Minister Sergei Kovalchuk said that the pressure on Belarusian sport is increasing every day. "Belarusian athletes and our federations have not violated a single legal norm. We need to get the international federations to provide detailed explanations why such recommendations were made," Sergei Kovalchuk said.