Even though the United Nations voted last year to observe the Olympic Truce, the Paris Games will still be held under the shadow of international conflict.

The UN resolution was entitled "Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal".

AFP looks at the ways the fighting in Ukraine and Middle East, as well as tensions with countries, notably Afghanistan, whose policies run counter to the Olympic charter, may cause issues for the Games, which run from July 26 to August 11.

Russia's persistent doping led to a ban on their Paralympic team at the Rio Games in 2016 and to bans on Russian athletes competing under their national flag at the 2021 Tokyo Games, and at both the 2018 Pyeongchang and 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

This time the issue is war, not drugs. On February 24, 2022, four days after the Beijing Olympics ended, and with the truce still in force, Russia invaded Ukraine.

The international outcry led to an immediate ban from most international sports on Russia and its Belarusian ally. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the Russian Olympic Committee........

© International Business Times