Belarusian with Russian flag at Paralympics opening acted in manly way – Foreign Ministry
Andrey Fomochkin, a Belarusian team member and Soviet-period champion in winter all-round, carried a Russian flag into the Rio Paralympic 2016 opening ceremony.
“It is a deed. Our competitor acted in earnest, in a comradely and manly way. If one is to be responsible for such actions, he will take responsibility,” Dzmitry Mironchyk, Spokesman for the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, said.
However, Fomochkin has turned out to be a sports functionary, not a Paralympian ‘competitor’.
Russia was banned from competing in the 2016 Paralympic Games due to the doping scandal. The report on Russia’s state-sponsored programme of cheating made by WADA for the World Anti-Doping Agency was taken into account.
In August, the Belarusian delegation expressed their readiness to stand in solidarity with Russia by showing their tricolor at the opening ceremony. The International Paralympic Committee strongly recommended against such step.
Later, Belarusian president Alyaksandr Lukashenka praised the Belarus delegation for displaying Russia’s flag.
