ROTTERDAM, October 16. /TASS/. The Dutch authorities’ refusal to issue visas to several Russian athletes has created a "sad" situation, World Gymnastics Secretary General Nicolas Buompane told reporters.

The Dutch city of Rotterdam will host the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships on October 17-25. Earlier, the Netherlands denied entry visas to Olympic champions Angelina Melnikova and Viktoria Listunova, as well as Anna Kalmykova.

"It’s very sad because the aim is really not to mix sports and politics. We hear this all the time, but at the end of the day, it’s politically driven somehow," Buompane said. "All efforts have been made to try to convince the Dutch government to provide visas to all athletes," Buompane added.

The World Championships will serve as the first team qualification event for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Based on the results, the top three men’s and top three women’s teams will earn Olympic quotas. Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev said on Tuesday that the Russian Olympic Committee would appeal to the International Olympic Committee and World Gymnastics, demanding that the tournament in Rotterdam be stripped of its Olympic qualifying status.