Ramzan Kadyrov: Chechen athletes not to compete at Olympic Games

On December 5, Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, announced that athletes registered as residents of Chechnya would not compete under a neutral flag at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. The Chechen leader's statement was made against the backdrop of the discussions to boycott the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 5, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the Russian national team from participating in the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korean Pyeongchang because of doping allegedly used in Sochi. Those Russian athletes who will be allowed to participate in the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang will compete under a neutral flag with Olympic rings, the IOC decided.

The leader of Chechnya has called the dismissal of the Russian national team from participating in the 2018 Olympic Games as a political step. Ramzan Kadyrov has stated it is important for Russian athletes to compete under their own national flag.

"No athlete registered as a Chechen resident will compete under a neutral flag. And we will honour as winners those Chechen athletes who by all criteria should have become members of the national team and gone to the Olympic Games!" Ramzan Kadyrov wrote in his Telegram channel as quoted by the "R-Sport".

It should be noted that even before the IOC had pronounced its decision, there was a proposal to hold alternative Olympic Games in Chechnya. Such an initiative was voiced by Djambulat Umarov, Minister of the Chechen Republic for National Policy, External Relations, Press and Information, on the air of the "Govorit Moskva" Radio Station.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.