Ex-Russian diplomat: Putin to blame for ‘tragic’ Olympic ban

Former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was to blame for the “tragic” ban of the nation’s athletes from participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics. 

“This is so tragic,” McFaul tweeted after a Tuesday ban by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). “I cannot imagine a Winter Olympics without Russia in it. I do feel for these Russian athletes. Who is to blame: Putin.”

This is so tragic. I cannot imagine a Winter Olympics without Russia in it. I do feel for these Russian athletes. Who is to blame: Putin. https://t.co/Dbseyiv3L1

— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) December 5, 2017

McFaul, who served as the ambassador from 2012 to 2014, has been a consistent critic of Putin, whom he blames for many of the problems in U.S.-Russia relations.

{mosads}The IOC made the unprecedented decision to keep Russia from competing in the Pyeongchang, South Korea, games in response to an investigation uncovering Russia’s state-backed doping program.

Putin, and all other Russian government officials, will not be allowed to attend the games. Russian athletes who have clean drug-testing records will be allowed to compete, but only in neutral uniforms. Russia’s flag and national anthem will also be prohibited from the games. 

Moscow has yet to make an official statement on the ban or the doping scandal, which harkens back to a similar decades-long state-backed operation in East Germany.