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President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach insists on plans to return Russian and Belarusian athletes to competitions under “neutral” flags. The participation of athletes from countries involved in aggression against Ukraine is “working” despite the fact that the war in Ukraine continues, he said on Tuesday, March 28, speaking at the headquarters in Switzerland.

The IOC imposed sanctions on Russia and Belarus after the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but is now advocating the athletes’ return to the next Olympics, to be held in Paris in 2024.

“Participation of athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports in international competitions is working,” Bach said in his speech at the beginning of the meeting of the IOC Executive Committee in Lausanne, where the issue of admitting these athletes to competitions was considered. He added that politics cannot be part of sports competitions, and athletes cannot be punished for their passports.

“We see it almost every day in a number of sports, especially tennis, but also cycling, some table tennis events. We see it in hockey, handball, we see it in soccer and other leagues in the United States and in Europe, and we also see it in other continents,” he said, adding that they did not pose a threat to competition.

Russian and Belarusian athletes represent not only sports, but also the army fighting against Ukraine – politicians, athletes

In January, the IOC outlined a multi-stage plan for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the upcoming 2024 Summer Games in Paris and the 2026 Winter Games in Milan.

The decision drew criticism from the US, Canada and several European countries, including the UK, Germany and Poland. Ukraine has threatened to boycott the Paris Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes compete there, even with neutral flags.

In a statement jointly submitted by Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine on the eve of the meeting of the IOC Executive Committee, it is said that “there is no reason to deviate from the exclusion regime for Russian and Belarusian athletes established by the IOC more than a year ago.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Urmas Reinsalu tweeted on Monday that most of Russia’s medals at the Tokyo Olympics were won by athletes with ties to the Russian military.

The Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of South Africa tweeted that during the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, Russia won 71 medals, of which Russian soldiers-athletes received 45.

“They belong to the same army that is now committing war crimes in Ukraine,” said the embassy’s tweet, which featured two Russian soldiers, Rosgvardiya captains, participating in the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Russians and Belarusians competed individually under a neutral flag in some sports, but their presence at individual events such as tennis tournaments drew protests from some other athletes. Russian and Belarusian teams were not considered as participants in international competitions.

On Tuesday morning, more than 300 fencers wrote a letter to the head of the IOC asking him to reconsider his decision. They warned that it would be a “disastrous mistake” if Russia and Belarus returned.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that it continues the fight.

“The Youth Council at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine united more than 25 youth communities to call for a #boycott of Russian sports and prevent Russia and Belarus from participating in the 2024 Olympics. They have already sent 16 open letters to the IOC and made a joint video statement,” said the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

In Russia, the decision of the IOC is called “unfair”

Russian mass media cite the chairman of the State Duma committee on physical culture and sports, Dmytro Svishchev, who called the IOC’s decision “unfair” and recommended that international federations allow Russians “who did not support the special operation” and athletes “connected to the armed forces and bodies” to compete security”, for example, athletes of CSKA (the former Soviet Central Sports Club of the Army).

As Svishchev noted, the participation of sportsmen in power structures is “a normal practice in the world, they should be allowed to compete.”

“Everyone perfectly understands that an athlete does not run with a machine gun – he performs under the flags of his native, beloved club. Therefore, I believe that athletes must be admitted, regardless of which club they belong to,” he said in a conversation with a Russian publication.