Meeting with IAAF President Sebastian Coe

Belarus’ President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Sebastian Coe at the renovated Dinamo Stadium in Minsk on 21 June.

“I have delivered my part of the promises. We have upgraded the stadium. Now we need to arrange good, solid competitions here,” the head of state said. He reminded about plans to hold the first ever international field-and-track event between the teams of Europe and the United States in September 2019.

“You have fulfilled and even overfulfilled your promise. It does not pertain to the stadium alone. Of course, we are discussing it and it is of great help. Everything we are doing here is very important, because we create opportunities not only for athletes, but also for boys and girls who aspire to become athletes in the future,” Sebastian Coe said.

“Thank you very much. It is great that we respect our commitments to each other,” the Belarusian President said.

Sebastian Coe praised Belarus’ considerable contribution to the fight against doping. He said that the country fulfilled its commitments. “We discussed this matter two years ago. You keep your word in this matter, too,” he said.

“I know that you strongly support this fight. Therefore, after our conversation, we passed all necessary laws endorsing a zero-tolerance policy on doping in our country,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The meeting was also attended by President of the European Athletic Association Svein Arne Hansen.