Deputy Premier, Transport Minister
and rightwing League party leader Matteo Salvini said Tuesday he
hoped Russian athletes would be able to compete at the
Milan-Corina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
Salvini, who before Moscow's invasion of Ukraine three years ago
was a vocal admirer of President Vladimir Putin, said it had
"hurt" to see sanctioned Russian athletes excluded from
international sporting events or competing without their flag.
"I hope that this Cortina slope that has united the territories,
will also unite the countries next year, and that the 2026
Olympics will be the first in which we will see Ukrainian and
Russian athletes descending on the ski slopes and bobsleigh
slopes. Because the Olympic spirit is based on peace", Salvini
said during the inauguration of the Olympic sliding centre in
Cortina, and after the first athlete tried the new bobsleigh
run.
"Also because - he added - while many efforts for peace are
underway, seeing national teams without flags, without symbols,
without presence, is something that hurts".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
