35 countries to demand the suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes from participation in the Olympic Games

Among these countries are the USA, Germany, Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Reuters writes about this citing the Minister of Sports of Lithuania.

The publication notes that this step will increase the pressure on the IOC.

"We are going in the direction that we would not need a boycott because all countries are unanimous," the publication quoted Lithuanian Minister of Education, Science, and Sports Jurgita Šiugždinienė.

According to them, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, took part in an online meeting attended by 35 sports ministers. He emphasized that the principle of neutrality cannot be applied to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Photo: AP