Thomas Bach said the IOC is susceptible to political influence

The International Olympic Committee recognizes that politics has an impact on the activities of the organization, said IOC head Thomas Bach, speaking at the general assembly of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of Oceania.

“We must defend our autonomy at all costs. (…) This does not mean that we are apolitical, that we behave as if we lived on the island of saints, that we do not recognize the political influence of our actions. They must have political influence”,” TASS quotes Bach as saying.

He noted that the International Olympic Committee should be politically neutral. The IOC chief called on national Olympic committees to work closely with governments and remain neutral as long as they respect autonomy.

According to Bach, if the organization ceases to be relevant, if the IOC does not have problems with politics. He also expressed hope that the International Olympic Committee “will always have problems with politics.”

Earlier it became known that the International Olympic Committee banned athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in the parade of athletes at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov stated that the Kremlin negatively perceives the IOC ban on the participation of Russian athletes in the parade at the opening ceremony of the Games.