Vladimir Putin claims Beijing Olympics diplomatic boycott about ‘ambitions’

• Putin says countries taking a human rights stand are ‘wrong’

• Russian president’s China visit to include talks with Xi Jinping

Vladimir Putin has stepped up his criticism of the US and Britain for staging a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games in Beijing, accusing western countries of politicising sport and violating the Olympic charter, which promotes peaceful competition among nations.

A number of western countries, which also include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia and Lithuania have refused to send officials to Beijing for Friday’s opening ceremony in protest at human rights abuses by the Chinese government.

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However the Russian president told China’s official news agency Xinhua that he questioned their motives. “Unfortunately, attempts by a number of countries to politicise sports issues for the sake of their ambitions have recently intensified.” Putin said. “This is fundamentally wrong and contradicts the very spirit and principles of the Olympic Charter.”

“The power and greatness of sports are that it brings people together, gives moments of triumph and pride for the country and delights with fair, just and uncompromising competition,” he added. “And these approaches are shared by most of the states participating in the International Olympic movement.

Putin, who is in Beijing for the opening ceremony, has previously said that a diplomatic boycott by the west was a mistake driven by a desire to restrain China’s development.

However the Russian president predicted that Beijing 2022 would be a success, telling Russian news agency, Tass: “I am convinced that China’s rich experience in the flawless organisation of representative international competitions will make it possible to hold this world sports festival at the highest level.

“Our Chinese friends have done a great job for high-quality preparations for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The Kremlin said that Putin’s visit would include top-level talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping to discuss “a Russian-Chinese comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation.”

The two leaders will also review topical international and regional matters,” a statement added.

However he will not hold talks with other leaders, even though Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to attend the opening ceremony.

Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, said he was proud to have averted the threat of an athletic boycott in Beijing.

“You may remember that at our IOC Sessions in January and July 2020, we could already see the dark clouds of the growing politicisation of sport on the horizon,” Bach told IOC delegates. “We also saw that in some peoples’ minds, the boycott ghosts of the past were rearing their ugly heads again.

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“This is why we have been working even harder to get the unifying mission of the Olympic Games across to as many leaders and decision-makers as possible: the United Nations, the G20 leaders, intergovernmental organisations and national governments, individual politicians and many, many more.

“In all these conversations we stressed that the Olympic Games can only accomplish this unifying mission, that we can only get all humanity together in all our diversity, if the Games stand beyond all differences and political disputes,” he added.

“We appealed to them to respect this and thereby to support this precious mission of the Olympic Games. Today we can be happy and proud that apparently this message got through.”