The United States is not discussing with its allies the possibility of a joint boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on April 7.
“Our position regarding the 2022 Olympics has not changed – we have not discussed and are not discussing the possibility of any joint boycott with our partners or allies,” The Hill quotes her.
Nevertheless, Washington maintains close consultations with its allies at all levels to discuss issues that arise on this topic and develop joint approaches, Psaki said.
Japan also announced the absence of negotiations with the United States on boycotting the Beijing Olympics.
At the same time, on the eve of the US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Washington is ready to discuss with the allies the idea of a boycott of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022.
In response to such statements, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian opposed the politicization of sports by individual countries and organizations, Gazeta.ru writes.
Also on March 11, it became known that the US National Olympic Committee opposed the idea of a boycott of the Games in Beijing.
In February, a coalition of 180 human rights organizations representing Tibetans, Uyghurs, Inner Mongols, Hong Kong residents and others called for a boycott of the Beijing 2022 Olympics over human rights violations in the country.
The allegations of a boycott were triggered by the massive repression attributed to Beijing against the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the PRC. The Chinese authorities argue that the problems associated with Xinjiang are not ethnic or religious issues, but problems of violence, terrorism and separatism.
The XXIV Winter Olympics are to be held in Beijing from 4 to 20 February 2022. The capital of the PRC was chosen as the venue at the session of the International Olympic Committee in Kuala Lumpur on July 31, 2015.