Zakharova: Belarusian who carried Russian flag at Rio Paralympics is a ‘hero’

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has called a representative of Belarus who carried a Russian flag at the Paralympics opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro "a hero."

"Today we have a hero. This is a man who brought the Russian flag at the opening of the Paralympic Games in Rio showing solidarity with those who had been barred from the Rio Paralympics in a mean and inhuman way," Zakharova told reporters, TASS reports.

"I think we will find out his name," the diplomat added. "We are proud as there are such people, these are people who are out of politics." "Thanks a lot to our Belarusian friends, and especially to this person," she said. "Such things cannot be forgotten. This is a true human move."  

Recall that during the parade of nations at the Maracana stadium at Wednesday night's opening ceremony, Belarusian team’s javelin thrower Alexander Tryputs carried the flag of Russia along with their national flag. 

The head of the Belarusian Paralympic Committee, Oleg Shepel, later said this was done in "a gesture of solidarity" with the Russian team barred from the Games over the unconfirmed anti-doping rule violations, the Belta news agency reported.