Olympic Games:Syrian athletes will be able to take part in the London Olympics this summer but any of the country's officials covered by a European Union travel ban will not be welcome at the Games, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday.
The presence of the Syrian delegation at the London Games starting in July is set to be controversial after more than a year of protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule led to violence that the United Nations says has killed 9,000 people.
Syrian opposition activists quoted in the British media have urged Britain to ban the head of Syria's National Olympic Committee, General Mowaffak Joumaa, and other officials regarded as close to Assad, from the Olympics.
But Cameron said he did not believe that Syrian athletes should be punished "for the sins of the regime".
"Syrian athletes will be taking part in the Games, and that is right, but let's be absolutely clear: Britain has led efforts within the European Union and elsewhere to institute asset bans, travel freezes and punishing sanctions against this despicable regime and anyone covered by one of those travel bans will not be welcomed in London," he said.
Cameron was speaking at a news conference side by side with Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is making its final inspection of the sporting venues this week before the Games begin.
It was not immediately clear whether any Syrian officials planning to travel to the Olympics are covered by sanctions. The IOC said this month that Syria would be present at the London Olympics despite the violence in the country.
Pere Miro, an IOC official, said he expected four or five Syrian athletes to qualify for London, mainly in athletics and swimming, and they would march into the stadium under the Syrian flag. He said Syria was also expected to send four or five officials, with Joumaa among those automatically invited.