LONDON (AP) — Paralympic organizers say they hope for a peaceful outcome in Ukraine after Russia executed a de facto military takeover of the Crimea region as athletes arrived in nearby Sochi for the Winter Games.
Russia’s parliament granted permission Saturday for the military to be deployed in Crimea on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.
The Paralympics open Friday further down the coast in Sochi and run until March 16.
Russia’s actions could violate the Olympic Truce, a U.N. resolution that asks warring parties to cease hostilities during the Olympics and Paralympics.
The International Paralympic Committee says in a statement to The Associated Press it hopes “a peaceful resolution can be found in the spirit of the Olympic Truce.”