MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin dismissed talk of an Olympic boycott after some of Russia’s top athletes were barred from competing at the PyeongChang Winter Games.
Several of the country’s top medal hopes, including six-time short track speed skating gold medalist Viktor Ahn, were barred from the Olympics amid the country’s ongoing doping scandal, which has already forced Russia to compete under a neutral flag.
Asked whether the Kremlin might consider a boycott in light of the new restrictions, Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, said “right now it is important to avoid words like ‘boycott.