Moscow – Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized a political boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing as unacceptable.

“This is an unacceptable and wrong decision,” the 69-year-old said at his big annual press conference in Moscow on the political boycott of the United States and other countries. Sport should not be used for political purposes. “We have always been against the politicization of sport,” Putin said. Unlike his American colleague Joe Biden, the head of the Kremlin will travel to Beijing in February for the opening of the Games.

The political boycott of China was due to attempts to stop the development of the country. “There can be no other motive behind this.” Sport, like culture, should unite people and not create problems in relations between peoples and states, said the head of the Kremlin. “If sport is deprived of this fundamental value, there will be damage to the entire international community.” That is an error”.

The United States had announced that it would not send diplomatic or official representatives to the Games in China. Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom followed suit. New Zealand also does not want to send diplomatic representatives. China has been criticized for human rights violations in its dealings with Uighurs and Tibetans, for repressing the democratic movement in Hong Kong and for threats against Taiwan.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz had said he had not yet made a decision on a possible diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games. French President Emmanuel Macron had already made it clear that he did not consider a diplomatic boycott useful.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 211223-99-492273 / 2