Milan, 6 December (LaPresse) – "Sport, by its very nature and DNA, must be a promoter of peace in all circumstances, because it promotes respect. Italy, together with all the other countries, signed the same declaration that was also signed in November 2021. It is a pity that Russia, between the Olympics and Paralympics, attacked and invaded Ukraine, mortifying the Olympic truce, which is the reason for the disqualification." This was stated by the Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi, on Tg2 Post, speaking about the Olympic truce ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Milan-Cortina. “I am convinced that the political and diplomatic action of countries around the world that are working for peace will succeed in making those who still think that war solves problems take responsibility,” he added. Speaking about the Games, he noted that 'we will be ready in time. For us, the Olympics began a long time ago, the organisational machine is working at full speed, there are thousands and thousands of people on the construction sites and the 18,000 volunteers are already beginning their training, as they should be'. The widespread Olympics ‘is certainly a courageous challenge’ and ‘part of the meaning of organising the Winter Games’ is "that they certainly cannot imagine concentrating the entire programme on a single mountain. Abodi said he was ‘confident. Because we have learned from past experiences, because when we decided to go ahead, we also considered how to make it sustainable over time. This applies to the bobsleigh, skeleton and luge track in Cortina, which will have a good international life. It will also provide an opportunity to revive the teaching of disciplines that had been somewhat lost due to a lack of infrastructure.’ ‘But it also applies to the Olympic village in Milan, which will become student accommodation, to the doubling of a pavilion at the exhibition centre that houses the ice rink, which will become a 30,000-seat arena, and to the ski jumps in Predazzo, which we have strengthened as an offering, because that is the heart of the ski jumping school,’ he added.