"Prudence always prevails and will win"

In recent years, Belarusian sports have moved a little further than Russian sports in returning to the international arena. So, back in late spring, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) lifted recommendations to international sports federations not to choose Belarus as the organizer of major competitions. And the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has already allowed some hockey teams to participate in its world championships for six months — we are talking about adult and junior women's teams, as well as men's junior under 18 (U-18).

In an interview with Izvestia, the Minister of Sports of the Republic of Belarus, Sergei Kovalchuk, assessed the situation with the admission of athletes from his country to international competitions, commented on the permission to hold competitions on the territory of the state, and also spoke about the problems with obtaining visas to the host countries of the tournaments.

"The time will come soon when the sanctions will be finally lifted"

— How would you assess the dynamics of reinstatement of your athletes' rights?

— You always want more. But much has already been done through the joint efforts of the Government of the Republic of Belarus, the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of our country and the Ministry of Sports, as well as relevant organizations of the Russian Federation. We check every step. I think we and you have done a lot in this area. I think the time will come soon when the sanctions will be finally lifted. There are, of course, certain sports where the heads of international federations have remained in the past and do not see the processes taking place in the world. For example, World Athletics (International Athletics Federation). They have so far lagged behind the trends. The main thing is that these people are not hopelessly left behind. We remember everything, and we still have to build relationships with them.

— How did the IOC manage to achieve the cancellation of the recommendations to federations not to hold international competitions on the territory of Belarus?

— This suggests that today the IOC is taking a comprehensive approach to the issue, taking into account the changes that have taken place in the organization (last year's change of the IOC president. — Izvestia). The Republic of Belarus is a safe country that has enough experience in organizing and holding various kinds of international competitions. Take even the examples of the last 10-15 years — the 2014 Ice Hockey World Cup, the Second European Games in 2019, the athletics match between the USA and European teams in 2019, the SECOND Games of the CIS countries in 2023. These and many other competitions were held at a high level. We have people and a structure that can perfectly organize any event. Probably, all these factors influenced the decision of the IOC. Well, our National Olympic Committee, headed by Viktor Alexandrovich Lukashenko, is doing a lot of work, which is in constant contact with the IOC and is working together with the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). All this is bearing fruit.

— Considering that now the IOC is not against holding competitions on the territory of Belarus, and the leadership of the IIHF has recently changed, are there plans to apply for the World Hockey Championship and compensate for the loss of the 2021 World Cup, which was taken away from Minsk?

— You know, we in the Republic of Belarus take this very calmly. Perhaps I am saying a seditious thing, but it is possible that at that time there was no need to hold the World Hockey Championship in 2021. Because both the epidemiological situation and the relations developing in the international arena might not have given the impetus for the development of this sport in the conditions that existed then. Latvia hosted the World Cup as well as it could. Is she capable of carrying it out? Everyone saw how capable a state with ambitions is to hold such an event.

As for the future, there is everything in the Republic of Belarus for holding any hockey events. We have 48 ice arenas. And three arenas can host competitions of the highest level — these are Minsk Arena, Chizhovka Arena and Bobruisk Arena. These facilities meet all the requirements for holding various kinds of international forums. We can hold any event — then everything lies in the plane of building interactions with international federations.

Sports subject: Russia's return to the world stage will be discussed in Krasnoyarsk

The international forum will bring together representatives from 60 countries, and one of the key topics will be the lifting of restrictions on domestic athletes.

— Do Belarusian athletes have the same problems with obtaining visas to the countries where competitions are held as Russian athletes?

— We are in exactly the same conditions. The same problems with visas, ineligibility, or decisions by mayors who ban the country's flag or threaten to exclude athletes. We all see it, analyze it... life doesn't end there. We understand that sports exist now, but 5-10 years will pass, and it will still develop. But to those countries that have done this to our athletes, we will, as they say in diplomacy, do alaverdes. After all, they will also come to us for competitions sometime.

— Can there be an answer?

— There is a principle of reciprocity in diplomacy. Although we are a very friendly country, the principle of reciprocity always exists.

— What are the ways to solve visa problems? The international federations are probably throwing up their hands here and saying they can't do anything.

— They are trying to solve the issue that was initially solved by their efforts in another way — to organize the non-admission of Belarusian and Russian athletes. Already beyond the scope of sports organizations. After all, sports organizations in various countries are still run by the governments of these countries. And I understand that with their submission (not even tacit consent) It's all being resolved.

— Russia and Belarus have often been accused of government interference in the activities of public organizations such as national Olympic committees and sports federations. It turns out that Western countries are virtually no different from us in this sense?

— It's not just that they don't differ. Quite the opposite. The International Modern Pentathlon Federation recently stripped Kaunas of the right to host the World Cup because the Lithuanian authorities refused to issue visas to Belarusian and Russian athletes. And we said that we were ready to hold this competition — let everyone come to us. Moreover, they won't even need visas — we will allow them to enter the Republic of Belarus visa-free. So you can compare how much our attitude towards sports is depoliticized, and how much it is subject to political influence. And we would have had a great time if we had been given the opportunity. Moreover, pentathlon is at the highest level in our country.

"If politicians can't solve issues, sometimes they are solved through sports"

— You mentioned the difficulties with athletics in terms of returning athletes from our countries. Many people believe that biathlon has the same problems. There is especially an excuse not to let our people in because of the issues of transporting rifles and cartridges.

— These are just ways to find reasons and opportunities to keep Belarusians and Russians out. If there was a desire to resolve the issue of admission, we would have found the opportunity to do so. It's just that the countries and the heads of the respective federations are striving to prevent our athletes from competing.

— What is their motivation? Just dislike of Belarus and Russia? Or, say, biathlon doesn't need extra competitors like your Olympic champions— the spouses of Dinara and Anton Smolsky?

— This is the attitude of a certain number of countries. First of all, the European ones who united around the situation with Ukraine.

— Is the fact that athletes from our countries have been actively allowed in the last two years due to the fact that another administration led by Donald Trump has come to the United States, under which negotiations are underway with Russia, and sanctions are being lifted from Belarusian companies?

— I think this is a natural process — a change of leadership in those organizations where they were unable to resolve the issue around sports. Sport should be a unifying story, a symbol of friendship, building relationships. If politicians cannot resolve issues, sometimes they are resolved through sport — through invisible threads of friendship. Sometimes it remains the only bridge for countries to build the right relationships, including through athletes and sporting events. And in recent years, this bridge has begun to be cut down. The question arises: why?

— Can the same Europeans cut this bridge completely?

— I think that there are significantly more reasonable people than aggressive ones who pursue such an aggressive policy, including in sports. Prudence always prevails and will win.

— Is it necessary, even after the restoration of relations, to look for alternative competition formats, as Russia and Belarus did after 2022? For example, the BRICS Games.

— We don't need to look for them, but to develop them further — everything that we have worked together in recent years. No need to invent something new. We just need to improve our work within the framework of the events that we have held in the BRICS, SCO and CIS formats. Even if we are fully admitted to international competitions tomorrow, and all our main squads go there, what prevents us from leaving the above formats for junior national teams to train reserves? Why destroy what has already been built? We need to breathe life into this, define a stable format. We just need deep collaboration.

— Belarusian football teams have been playing home matches on neutral fields for the past five years, and these sanctions were imposed not in 2022, but in the summer of 2021 after the incident with the plane from Athens. What are the chances that these restrictions will be lifted soon?

— There are chances. But a lot depends on the economic aspects — flights, the opening of the sky. Many factors influence the situation. But I think there are chances.

— So the national teams and club teams of Belarus can already play official matches on their fields in a year?

— It could be that. It doesn't depend on us, but on the officials who run world and European football.