Former Russian Minister of Sports Pavel Kolobkov demanded that representatives of the aggressor country return to international tournaments because "they are not to blame for anything. The Olympic fencing champion, in the best traditions of Kremlin propaganda, accused sports federations of politicizing sports.

Kolobkov said this in an interview with the television channel Match TV. The former epee-fencer noted that he sees no reason to punish Russian athletes, despite the fact that many of them openly support the war in Ukraine and the crimes of dictator Vladimir Putin, participate in propaganda concerts and are members of the Russian army.

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"You have to understand that initially the athletes are not to blame for anything. They do what they love to do and they want to compete with the strongest competitors, just like everyone else. Therefore, I think, in no case we should consider ourselves to be at fault. We have to fight for our rights. I see that new formats are appearing, which allow our athletes, though not all of them, to attend international competitions and compete normally. I am sure that our presence will only expand," Kolobkov said.

Earlier, four-time Olympic biathlon champion Alexandr Tikhonov called for physical harm to Europe and the rest of NATO for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) wanting to allow Russia to participate in the 2024 Olympics as a refugee team.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin ordered an alternative Olympics in 2024 called "Friendship Games". Kremlin aide Igor Levitin added that "most countries of the world have rallied" around the Russian Federation.

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