Belarusian who marched with Russian flag during Rio Paralympics opening ceremony to be given apartment as gift - Zakharova
MOSCOW. Oct 3 (Interfax) - Andrei Fomochkin, a representative of the Belarusian Sports and Tourism Ministry who carried the Russian flag during the 2016 Paralympic Games opening ceremony, will be given an apartment as a gift, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
"I have learned about that from an acquaintance of mine whose friend decided to give the gift to Fomochkin in token of admiration for his move," she said on Facebook.
"I shall not tell you the entire story. I can only say that the apartment is real and the house is built, which I have naturally checked myself. You will learn who this mysterious Count of Monte Cristo is and how our Belarusian hero will feel about this gift tomorrow, because Fomochkin has come to Moscow today," Zakharova said.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) disqualified the Russian Paralympic Committee and barred Russian athletes from the Games. Attempts to challenge that decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) failed. In addition, the IPC declined individual clearance for the Rio Games to more than 175 Russian Paralympians.
