The Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee announced on the 7th that, the suspension of the membership of the Russian Olympic Committee from 12 October 2023 was temporarily lifted. The decision clears the way for the full return of Russian athletes to international sporting events and paves the way for the Russian national team to return to the Olympic stage before the 2028 Los Angeles games, Reuters and other media reported Wednesday.
After the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, the executive committee of the International Olympic Committee recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes be banned from participating in international competitions. On October 12,2023, the executive committee of the International Olympic Committee decided to suspend the membership of the Russian Olympic Committee because the Russian Olympic Committee unilaterally included sports organizations in Ukraine as its members. For the past few years, Russian athletes have been allowed to compete in international competitions only as“Neutral individual athletes”.
The restrictions on Belarusian athletes were lifted in May.
The decision by the International Olympic Committee was welcomed. Russian satellite news agency reported on the 8th that Russian presidential press secretary Peskov said that the International Olympic Committee has decided to temporarily reinstate the status of the Russian Olympic Committee, this is an important step on the road to restoring the legal right of Russian athletes to participate in international competitions, “Which is good news”.
According to a Reuters report on the 7th, International Olympic Committee President Coventry said, “We want to make sure that all athletes have the opportunity to participate in the games. The decision to allow Russian athletes to compete was based on that. “We will continue to support Ukraine as we have since the war started, but I don’t think the athletes should pay the price,” Coventry said
Ukraine’s foreign ministry on the 7th expressed dissatisfaction, saying, “The International Olympic Committee’s move to the entire international community is an ‘alarming signal’ .”. The statement called on international tournament hosts to ban Russian“National symbols” from their stadiums and urged international federations to maintain existing restrictions on Russian athletes.
Russia’s“Kommersant” reported on the 7th, even if a“Key victory”, for Russian athletes there are still many restrictions and quite stringent. The International Olympic Committee will decide separately on the display of the Russian flag, anthem, logo and related elements at the Olympic Games. French media also said that Russian athletes must pass multiple drug tests before resuming competition.