SOCHI, 15 February (BelTA) – Belarusian footballers will not be considered foreign players in Russia starting from the next season, Russian Minister of Sport Pavel Kolobkov said as he took part in the meeting of Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin, BelTA has learned.
“Approximation of legislation of Belarus and Russia to ensure equal rights of citizens of the two countries is an important goal. Last year we worked hard and approved several resolutions on team sports. Now Belarusian athletes enjoy equal rights with Russians. They will no longer be subject to restrictions with regard the participation in competitions. The resolution on football will be approved shortly and will be included into the regulations of the Russian Football Union,” the minister said.
Thus Belarusian footballers will no longer be considered foreign players in Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin specified.
The Russian minister informed the participants of the meeting about cooperation between the sport authorities in science and education and about the Union State spartakiad for children and teenagers. Belarusian athletes regularly take part in Russian competitions, educational and training events.
Pavel Kolobkov put forward a suggestion to hold competitions among the finalists and winners of Belarus' and Russia's junior ice hockey tournaments both titled the Golden Puck.
The agenda of the meeting also included issues of joint training of Belarusian and Russian athletes for major international events including the Olympic Games.
Belarusian Sport and Tourism Minister Sergei Kovalchuk, in turn, said that Belarus is willing to assist the training of Russian athletes in Belarus' sport facilities. He thanked Russia for support and expressed interest in further cooperation to develop several sports in Belarus with the help of Russian specialists.
In tourism, the Belarusian minister offered to include war memorials and historic places in Belarus into the Russian patriotic program Roads of the Victory. Another suggestion was to design a common historical and cultural standard to cultivate spiritual and mental bonds between young people of the two countries.
