The United Nations and the organizers of the Milano–Cortina 2026
Winter Olympic Games have called for a seven-week pause in ongoing
conflicts worldwide, one week ahead of the opening of the
prestigious sporting event.
As reported by Azernews, citing foreign media,
supporters of the initiative say the appeal – rooted in ancient
Greek tradition – carries a strong moral imperative at a time when
armed conflicts are increasing globally.
The proposed truce, backed by a UN General Assembly resolution,
would cover the period of the Winter Olympic Games, scheduled for
February 6–22, as well as the Paralympic Games, set to take place
from March 6–15.
“From an ethical perspective, we want to send a message that the
Olympic Truce, the Sacred Olympic Truce, must be respected,” said
Konstantinos Filis, Director of the International Olympic Truce
Centre based in Athens. “This may not always be possible in
practice, but the message reaches every corner of the world:
wherever possible, we should try to create space for peace, even if
only a small one.”
The modern Olympic Games were revived in 1896, while the concept
of an Olympic truce gained renewed attention nearly a century
later, in the early 1990s, amid the outbreak of wars in the former
Yugoslavia.
