(Lausanne) The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday recommended the reinstatement of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions, under a neutral banner and “in an individual capacity”, provided they have not actively supported the war in Ukraine.
But the organization’s executive board will decide “at the appropriate time” on their possible participation in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, which Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries threaten to boycott in the event of Russian presence, said the president of the CIO Thomas Bach during a press conference.
Pressed for weeks to clarify its position, the Olympic body announced last December “to explore ways” to bring the banished back into the fold of world sport, after recommending their exclusion at the end of February 2022 due to the invasion of the Ukraine by the Russian army, with the support of neighboring Belarus.
The IOC, after four months of consultations with the entire Olympic world, has chosen to leave the international federations and competition organizers with the primary responsibility of whether or not to invite Russian and Belarusian athletes, contenting itself with “recommendations” to “harmonize their approach.
The body’s executive thus suggests maintaining the exclusion of all Russian and Belarusian teams and limiting the return to competition to athletes “holding a Russian or Belarusian passport” as long as they compete on an “individual basis”. and under a neutral banner, that they have “not actively supported the war in Ukraine” and are not under contract with the Russian army or the security services.
While the qualifications for the 2024 Olympics have already started in certain disciplines, the IOC on the other hand “did not address” this Tuesday the question of Russian and Belarusian participation in the next Games, explosive in view of the threats of boycott.
The Olympic organization will decide “at the appropriate time, at its sole discretion, and without being bound by the results of qualifying competitions for the Olympic Games”, announced Thomas Bach.