MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The International Olympic Committee's decision on Russia's participation in the 2018 Olympic Games is detrimental to the spirit of international cooperation, and half measures are unacceptable in this case, former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev told Sputnik on Wednesday.
The former president said he considered "half measures" unacceptable.
"I think even if there were some infractions, it had to be solved in the usual way… So all kinds of half measures are unacceptable, I think. I am in favor of it [the Russian team] being fully reinstated. In that case, our country and the whole world would have seen that the Olympic movement is a movement that is close to the people and takes [them] into consideration," Gorbachev said.
READ MORE: Gerard Depardieu Demands Russia Be Allowed to Compete at 2018 Winter Olympics
On Tuesday, the IOC Executive Board decided to suspend the Russian National Olympic Committee over the alleged systematic manipulation of the anti-doping system and to allow selected Russian athletes to compete in the PyeongChang 2018 Games only under the Olympic Flag.
A list of Russian athletes who will be able to compete at the 2018 Olympics with a neutral status will be determined by a special group led by the former Minister of Sports of France, ITA chairman Valeri Fourneyron. The group will include representatives of WADA and IOC.
