Naryshkin: appeals for boycotting Sochi Games silly and cynical
STRASBOURG. Oct 1 (Interfax) - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) applauded State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin who said the appeals for boycotting the Sochi Winter Olympic Games were silly and cynical.
"I know this idea has occurred to some hazy minds," he told the Assembly while answering questions from deputies on Tuesday.
As a rule, such situations affect "athletes who are deprived access to sports competitions," he said.
The speaker recalled the boycott of the Moscow Olympic Games in 1980 over the deployment of Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
"The country which initiated that boycott stationed its own forces there and continued the fighting in Afghanistan in a later period. As you can see, this [appeal for boycotting the Games] is silly and cynical," said Naryshkin. The audience applauded his opinion.
