MOSCOW (Sputnik) – South Korean Ambassador to Russia Woo Yoon-keun said that Seoul hopes that the Russian national team will participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea's Pyeongchang.
"We surely hope that Russia, which is a strong sports nation, will participate in the Olympics, will achieve great results and will make a significant contribution to the development of winter sports around the world," Woo told Russian media outlets in an interview.
Seoul is also offering Moscow the opportunity to strengthen ties within the framework of the 2018 Winter Olympics in order to fulfill the Olympic ideals of worldwide unity and peace, the South Korean ambassador added.
In 2015, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accused Russia of doping-related violations. Later, the head of a WADA independent commission, Richard McLaren, presented a report on doping violations in Russia.
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Russia is still awaiting the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the country's participation in the upcoming games. On November 16, WADA's Foundation Board approved the recommendation of the Independent Compliance Review Committee to declare the RUSADA non-compliant with the anti-doping code. According to media reports, the step could lead to the full disqualification of the Russian team from the forthcoming Winter Olympics. The final decision will be made during the meeting of the IOC Executive Board on December 5-7.
The 2018 Winter Olympic Games will be held in Pyeongchang on February 9-25, 2018.
