MOSCOW, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Decisions made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday to ban the Russian national team from the 2018 Winter Olympic Games will not knock Russia out of competition, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.
"One can only imagine what we have suffered from our 'partners.' But they cannot knock us out. Neither by means of a world war nor by means of tearing down the Soviet Union nor by means sanctions... We always survive," Zakharova wrote on her Facebook account.
"Russia organized a really perfect Olympics Games. Sports have developed into a national idea realized in tens of thousands of children's sports clubs and schools, modern stadiums and in people's striving to be physically fit," she added.
The IOC announced on Tuesday its decision to ban the Russian national team from taking part in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games over multiple doping abuse allegations, but permitting doping-free Russians to compete at the Pyeongchang Games as neutral athletes.
