Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov Photo: Li Hao/GT

Russia plans to send a 500-people delegation to the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, including athletes, coaches, medical workers and service support staff marking the biggest foreign delegation coming to the event, Russian ambassador to China said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a Tuesday press conference, Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov said that the Olympics are a highly expected event and that he fully believes China can host the event with high quality, and overcome all difficulties posed by COVID-19.

He also described the event as a double happiness for Russia as the country will send a big delegation to Beijing and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who leads the delegation, will have a face-to-face meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. 

He said that in the past year, the two leaders kept frequent exchanges, yet those exchanges cannot replace an in-person meeting. 

When asked about some countries not sending officials and government representatives to the event, the ambassador said that every time a country hosts a large-scale event, there are certain groups of people who want to sabotage the event for narrow political interests.

He added that those efforts are futile as people know that they have no social basis. Those who attempt to undermine China's interest with so-called diplomatic boycott are actually damaging their own interests, as athletes from those countries will be disappointed at the opening ceremony that they have no support from their countries, he said. 

At last, Denisov said recently he has often been asked what country he supports. "As a Russian, I of course support Russian athletes. But as a Beijing resident, I also support the Chinese team. Thus, the two teams will have my support during the Winter Olympics." 

Global Times