MOSCOW, January 25 – RIA Novosti. Russian Minister of Sports Oleg Matytsin believes that it is unacceptable to set special conditions for the participation of Russian athletes in international tournaments, which are inconsistent with the Olympic Charter.
On Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Committee meeting evaluated the initiatives discussed at the IOC summit held online in December. In addition, before the meeting, representatives of the IOC Executive Committee held consultations on 17-19 January with other members of the Olympic Movement, international sports organizations and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The IOC called for additional work on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in competitions under strict conditions. They will have to act in the status of “neutral athletes”. Only athletes who adhere to the Olympic Charter, that is, do not support a special operation in Ukraine, and also comply with the anti-doping rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), will be able to participate in international tournaments. . All athletes will be required to pass individual doping tests.
“External pressure has given us another opportunity to leverage our own resources and do everything possible to strengthen the national sports system. We are a self-sufficient country with great sporting traditions and have demonstrated the ability to host major international sporting events. Including the IOC Over the past decades, we have affirmed that the development of the international sports movement is impossible without Russia. There are no friendly and unfriendly countries for us in sports, we are committed to real sports values. And insists on the inadmissibility of political interference in sports. Solidarity always should be the most important principle. Sport has always been and will remain a mechanism for constructive dialogue and the main mechanism for strengthening relations between countries and peoples.” .
At the end of February 2022, the IOC recommended that international sports federations not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete due to the situation in Ukraine. A number of international federations excluded Russians and Belarusians from competitions under their auspices, and also canceled competitions in Russia, other federations allowed athletes with neutral status.
Source: Ria
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