Sports Minister Novak visits Ukrainian athletes accomodated at Nicolar Navasart Sports Complex

On Wednesday, the Minister of Sports, Eduard Novak, visited the 51 athletes, technicians, physical trainers and doctors from the Olympic kayak canoe team of Ukraine who were accommodated at the Nicolae Navasart Sports Complex in Snagov.

Minister Eduard Novak told AGERPRES that Romania can provide 700 accommodation places to Ukrainian athletes affected by the armed conflict, and we are waiting for new requests in this regard.

"As soon as this war started we identified this solution to help Ukrainian athletes in our sports bases. Because this status of sports refugee is somehow different from a refugee who is not a performance athlete and we can give them the opportunity to train in our bases. We are now in the Navasart sports base, but we have 700 accentuation places that we can offer in all our bases, we can receive 700 Ukrainian athletes. We are waiting for other requests. They are coming from Turkey, where they were training, and I believe they will be here for quite a while, for I think this crisis will last and they don't have anywhere else to go right now. And I believe it's our duty, and this is what also learn from sports, the fair play, to respect each other. Even if we are competing against each other in the international competitions, right now we need to be partners and we must help them in their tough times," stated Novak.

He specified that it was the duty of the Romanian sports world to extend a helping hand to the Ukrainians, the same as he was certain they would have done for the Romanian athletes, if things were the other way round.

Eduard Novak stated that he would like common training camps for Romanian and Ukrainian athletes to participate in the next period.

Ukrainian athletes arrived in Bucharest on Monday with a charter flight from Antalya, where they were in camp at the beginning of the armed conflict in their country.

At the Navasart Sports Complex, the Ukrainian team benefits from accommodation, meals and training conditions, with their boats arriving on Snagov on Wednesday as well.