MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd May, 2023) Countries with anti-Russian attitude actively exploit sports topics as a pretext to introduce double standards against Moscow, however most of the members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) support the country's return to the global sports arena, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik.
"The vast majority of member countries of the international Olympic movement support the return of our country to world sports and do not follow the lead of a group of Russophobic states that are ready for anything, up to blackmail in the form of boycotts of sports competitions, which, as a result, will affect both athletes and spectators," the ministry said.
The department also noted that it has become the norm for international secretariats and working bodies to serve "neo-colonial interests" of a narrow group of Western states.
"The topic of sports is also no exception - it is actively used as a tool for introducing double standards in relation to our country," the ministry said.
Besides, the foreign ministry said that Russian considers it necessary to further actively cooperate with international sports federations, which, in accordance with the recommendations of the IOC, make decisions on the admission of our athletes to sports competitions.
"As we can see, this is bearing fruit, a number of such federations have already expressed support for the return of our athletes to world sports," the ministry said.
Additionally, Russia remains committed to its international obligations in the fight against doping and hopes for an unbiased and non-politicized attitude on the part of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regarding the restoration of the rights of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), the ministry said.
On March 26, the International Olympic Committee issued a recommendation for international sports federations to allow Russian athletes to compete as neutrals, provided that they do not support Russia's ongoing military operation in Ukraine and are not contracted to the Russian military or national security agencies. Teams under Russian or Belarusian flags will not be allowed. Several international sports federations, including World Taekwondo and United World Wrestling (UWW), have greenlighted neutral Russian athletes, while others have flagged plans to follow suit.
