ZAKHAROVA: CANADA GROSSLY VIOLATING OLYMPIC CHARTER

MOSCOW, NOVEMBER 4 /SRNA – RIA Novosti/ – Canada's refusal to issue visas to Russian athletes who want to take part in the World Junior Hockey Championship is a gross violation of the Olympic Charter, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said earlier that Russia's junior hockey team would not take part in the championship in Canada because Ottawa would not issue visas to athletes from Russia and Belarus for competitions held on Canadian soil.

"Such actions are a serious violation of the Olympic Charter," Zakharova said.

Last week, the Court of Arbitration for Sport /CAS/ ruled that Russia should be allowed to take part in International Ice Hockey Federation /IIHF/ competitions.

Following the CAS ruling, Germany raised the possibility of not hosting next year's Ice Hockey World Championship, while the hockey federations of Sweden, Latvia, Finland, Norway and Denmark said their teams would not play against Russia.

The World Junior Hockey Championship runs from December 26 to January 5 in Edmonton and Red Deer, in the Canadian province of Alberta.