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Lukashenka: Belarus ready to host biathlon world championships

 

Belarus is ready to host a Biathlon World Cup event or even a biathlon world championships, Alyaksandr Lukashenka told reporters in Minsk on March 2.

“We are ready to host cross-country ski races and biathlon competitions,” he said after taking part in an annual cross-country race featuring top government officials.

Mr. Lukashenka said that Belarus would be able to host even an Olympics if given enough time to prepare. “If such a decision were made in advance, I’m sure we would cope with the task,” the government’s news agency BelTA quoted him as saying. “If we were not quite ready, Russians would help us in terms of sports facilities and venues. We could host [an Olympics] but we would need five to seven years to prepare for such an important tournament.”

“We are ready to host any other events if we know one or two years in advance,” he added.

Mr. Lukashenka promised that the Soviet-era Rawbichy winter sports center some 15 kilometers north of Minsk would be turned into an “ultra-modern, top-level” facility following a renovation within the next two to three years.

Mr. Lukashenka insisted that Belarus had more than enough facilities for amateur athletes and said that there was no longer a need for building new sports facilities in the country. “The existing ones should be used so that they yield a return,” he was quoted as saying. // BelaPAN