Putin lauds Olympic Committee ruling but isn’t sure about attending the Rio Games
Russian President Vladimir Putin is clearly pleased that the International Olympic Committee chose not to ban his country from the Summer Games in Brazil next month.
But that doesn’t mean he will travel to Rio de Janeiro to watch the action.
On Monday — the day after the IOC made its announcement — Putin told the Tass news agency: “Undoubtedly we hail the decision.”
His spokesman said he will nonetheless skip the Olympic opening ceremony on Aug. 5 and might not attend any of the competitions.
“The president has a different working schedule,” Dmitry Peskov said. “I don’t know so far which decision the president will make.”
Responding to the widespread doping scandal in Russia, the IOC chose not to issue a blanket ban, announcing Sunday it will let the international federations that govern each sport decide which athletes are eligible for Rio.
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