LAUSANNE, Switzerland - The International Olympic Committee is to “explore” a proposal allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in international sporting events in Asia, it was announced on Friday.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus were banned from international competition in February after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
But at the Olympic Summit in Lausanne, the IOC said it would “lead the further exploration” of a proposal by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to host athletes from the two countries.
“The OCA offered to facilitate the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in competitions in Asia under its authority, while respecting the sanctions in place,” the IOC said.
The Olympic Summit brings together leading figures in the Olympic Movement, including IOC president Thomas Bach, international federation leaders and in this case Stanislav Pozdnyakov, president of the Russian Olympic Committee.
There was no representative from Ukraine listed.
“In the course of the debate, the Acting President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) stated that, on the Asian continent, the reasons for the protective measures no longer exist,” the IOC said in reference to banning athletes.
“Representatives from the international federations (IFs) welcomed this initiative, stating that, for some IFs and for hosts of their competitions, the same reasoning would apply, and that therefore there should not be a one-size-fits-all solution, but that each IF should carefully evaluate for its sport whether the reasons for the protective measures still exist.”
While most international federations followed the IOC’s recommendation in February to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes, the question is already being asked over their participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics and inclusion in Asia-based events would allow them to take part in Games qualifiers.
Their participation in international sport was a “big dilemma” that had been politicised by individual governments intervening to block them, Bach said Wednesday while upholding the sanctions on the Russian and Belarusian states and governments.
“We need to explore ways to overcome this dilemma... to come back to sporting merits and not to political interference.
“This question of participation of athletes is very different from that of sanctions.” AFP
