IBSF Decision to Move Bobsleigh, Skeleton Championships Out of Sochi Politicized

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov named the IBSF's decision to exclude the world championships from Russia's Sochi is regretful and politicized, said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation's (IBSF) decision to move the world championships out of Russia's Sochi is regretful and politicized, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

"We believe that it is a politicized decision, it is based, inter alia, on the statements and conclusions, which we have recently seen in the second part of McLaren's report. At least, it has an indirect relation to it, I guess. We believe that these allegations are baseless and really politicized. And in this regard, we express our regret," Peskov told reporters.

On Tuesday, the IBSF announced its decision to move the championship from Sochi "to allow athletes to participate in a competition that focuses on sport rather than accusations."

The IBSF also stressed that the current climate would make it nearly impossible "to appreciate the efforts of the Organizing Committee" to host the event or the quality of the Sanki Sliding Center "as one of the best tracks in the world."

Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!