"We can't provide you with absolute certainty on anything" says IOC spokesperson about Peng Shuai

After five weeks of concern about the safety of tennis player Peng Shuai in China, the International Olympic Committee said Tuesday it cannot give any certainties about her case.

The IOC’s two video calls with the Grand Slam doubles champion are the only reported contacts Peng has had with people outside China since Nov. 2 when she sent a social media post alleging she was sexually assaulted by a former top Communist Party official. Critics have claimed the IOC is enabling a cover-up by China ahead of the state-backed project to host the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February.

The OIC held a news conference on Tuesday where the spokesperson of the organization said:

“We can’t provide you with absolute certainty on anything. All we can do is do the best we can in the process that we believe is in the best interests of the well-being of the athlete.”

The Olympic body has repeatedly cited its policy of “quiet diplomacy” as the most likely to succeed with China, whose leader has met and spoken directly with IOC president Thomas Bach since Beijing was picked as host in 2015.

The spokesperson Mark Adams further said:

“We can’t give assurances and we don’t know the full facts. It’s a full road map to at least attempt to keep in touch and to see where she is.”