Ukraine stepped up efforts Friday to lobby international sports leaders against Russian participation in next year's Paris Olympics as indications mount that the games could see the biggest boycott since the Cold War.
The IOC, which previously recommended excluding Russians and Belarusians from world sports on safety grounds, argues that it cannot discriminate against them purely based on citizenship, citing comments from United Nations officials.
Also Friday, the prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania urged the IOC to ban Russian athletes and said a boycott was a possibility.Speakers at the Ukrainian Olympic Committee's assembly meeting Friday raised concerns about Russia using the event in Paris for propaganda and noted the close ties between some competitors and the country's military.
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