Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginenė has said she will boycott the upcoming Paralympic Games in protest against the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags.
“I was planning a trip to support our Paralympic athletes and committee, but this trip will not happen and our athlete representing Lithuania will have to be honoured here,” Ruginenene told Radio žini Rad Radijas.
According to LRT, the prime minister repeated her criticism of the International Olympic Committee, saying its decision “does not reflect today’s reality”.
Also earlier, the Lithuanian Paralympic Committee strongly criticised the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the current Paralympics-2026 under their national flags.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga has called on partner countries to boycott the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games because of the decision to allow the use of national symbols of Russia and Belarus.
The International Paralympic Committee recently told Media that it will allow a limited number of athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under their national flags. According to the committee, these athletes will have “the same treatment as representatives of any other country.”
Ukrainian Youth and Sports Minister Matvey Poor said that representatives of the Ukrainian government will boycott the Paralympic Games in Italy because of the decision.
The Winter Paralympic Games will be held in Milan from 6 to 15 March.