Kuleba urges UK not to issue visas for Russian and Belarusian tennis players allowed to compete in Wimbledon

Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, called upon the UK government to deny visas to Russian and Belarusian tennis players who were allowed to compete in the Wimbledon Championships despite Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine.

Source: Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on Twitter

Quote: "Has Russia ceased its aggression or atrocities? No, it’s just that Wimbledon decided to accommodate two accomplices in crime. I call on the UK government to deny visas to their players."

Details: Kuleba called Wimbledon’s decision to allow the Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete amoral.

Background: 

• On 31 March, the organisers of Wimbledon, one of the main tennis tournaments in the world, announced the cancellation of the ban for the Russian and Belarusian tennis players to compete.

• They were allowed to participate in the contest provided that they sign the declaration of neutrality. In addition to this, the Russian and Belarusian tennis players must refrain from being financed by their countries and promise to adhere to the zero tolerance approach towards displaying any flags, symbols or anything else that supports Russia, Belarus, or the war.

• The organisers explained that this decision was caused by the penalties from the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women’s Tennis Association.

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