Almost three out of four Poles oppose the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Olympics, according to a survey published in the newspaper Rzeczpospolita on Thursday.

The IBRiS survey, commissioned by the newspaper, found that 72.6 percent of Poles want to see Russia and Belarus banned from the 2024 Summer Olympics while only 15.2 percent believe the two countries should be allowed to participate.

„We support Ukraine in the war, and now we back the International Olympic Committee in its clash with Russia,” the paper wrote.

„Minister of Sport and Tourism Kamil Bortniczuk is convinced that after a remote meeting of his European counterparts on Friday that as many as 40 countries will strongly be in favour of excluding Russia and Belarus from the Games,” the newspaper added.

Rzeczpospolita also said that the Polish Olympic Committee had adopted an unequivocal anti-Russian position since the very start, as had Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and five Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland). (PAP)

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