Sanctions Imposed On Russian Athletes Over Moscow's Violation Of Olympic Truce - IOC Head

Sanctions Imposed on Russian Athletes Over Moscow's Violation of Olympic Truce - IOC Head

Restrictive measures on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in sports competitions were imposed due to the "blatant violation" of the Olympic truce by Moscow, International Olympic Committee's (IOC) head Thomas Bach said on Thursday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th March, 2023) Restrictive measures on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in sports competitions were imposed due to the "blatant violation" of the Olympic truce by Moscow, International Olympic Committee's (IOC) head Thomas Bach said on Thursday.

In February 2022, the IOC recommended that international sports federations ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in competitions after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine. Most international federations initially followed the recommendation, but some have since allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under a neutral flag.

"This (Russia's military operation in Ukraine) was a blatant violation of the Olympic truce and happened between the Olympic winter games (in Beijing in 2022) and Paralympic games. And therefore we had to take all these solidarity efforts (with Ukraine)," Bach told reporters.

Earlier in the week, the IOC executive board recommended international sports federations to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under neutral flag but not if they support the ongoing military operation in Ukraine or are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies.

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the IOC recommendations were aimed at excluding Russia from international sports events and contradicted principles of the Olympic movement.