The International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday that sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus over the war in Ukraine are not negotiable.
The IOC’s announcement came in response to the statements of the President of the Russian Olympic Committee, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, in which he welcomed any moves by the International Olympic Committee to allow his country’s athletes to participate in the Olympics, in light of the committee’s search for ways to return them to the international arena.
Pozdnyakov was talking about the International Olympic Committee’s announcement last week that athletes from the two countries could be allowed to participate in the Asian qualifiers to qualify for Paris, given that they were denied participation in Europe.
The International Olympic Committee wrote on its Twitter account, “The sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus are not negotiable. They were informed by consensus during the General Assembly meeting on the ninth of December 2022.”
These penalties include the non-attendance of any officials from the governments of the two countries to international sports competitions, in addition to not organizing any sporting events in the two countries.
Last week, the International Olympic Committee said that the Olympic Council of Asia offered the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in the qualifiers for the Paris Olympics, to demand that Kyiv prevent the participation of Russian athletes because of the invasion.
Pozdnyakov said earlier yesterday, “Certainly there are some attempts by the International Olympic Committee to allow our athletes to participate in international competitions. Perhaps the next Olympics, of course we would very much welcome that.” He warned of what he said were “additional conditions” that would be imposed on Russian athletes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that allowing Russia to participate in the 2024 Olympics would show that “terrorism has become acceptable.”
On Monday, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said that the Olympic Committee “suggests to the world the promotion of violence, mass murder and destruction.”
The International Olympic Committee, which left Russia’s participation in Paris in the hands of international sports federations, issued a statement on Monday saying, “The International Olympic Committee strongly rejects this and other defamatory statements. It cannot serve as a basis for any constructive discussion.”
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of last year, many sports federations have suspended Russian teams and athletes, and the International Olympic Committee has requested that sporting events be canceled in Russia and that athletes from Russia and Belarus participate as neutrals.
Russian athletes participated as neutrals in the Winter Olympics in Beijing last year.
And with the Olympic Committee wanting to include athletes from Russia and Belarus as neutrals, how they will qualify for Paris 2024 is not clear.
Some Olympic committees, including the US Olympic Committee, supported the participation of athletes from both countries as neutrals.
“No athlete should be prevented from competing because of his passport,” the International Olympic Committee said last week, after consulting with other officials.
