Governments of more than 30 countries have challenged the IOC for “clarification” over how Russian and Belarusian athletes would be able to compete as neutral athletes in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Russia and its ally Belarus, which allowed its territory to be used as a launchpad when Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine last February, have been sidelined from most Olympic sports since the war began.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it is exploring a “pathway” to allow Russian and Belarusian competitors to take part in the Paris Games, under a neutral flag — sparking fury from Ukraine.
But in a joint letter seen by AFP, the countries expressed concern particularly given the “strong links and affiliations between Russian athletes and the Russian military”.
“We have strong concerns on how feasible it is for Russian and Belarusian Olympic athletes to compete as ‘neutrals’… when they are directly funded and supported by their states,” said the letter seen by AFP.
It said that “these strong concerns need to be dealt with by the IOC.”
The international coalition of 34 countries includes Australia, the United States, Britain, France, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Germany.
Officials in the UK and United States have been the most vocal in the aftermath of the letter’s release.
Assistant Secretary of State Lee Satterfield said sport and politics is intertwined in Russia and can’t be sanctioned on a global stage.
“The United States will continue to join a vast community of nations to hold Russia and Belarus — and the bad actors who dictate their actions — accountable for this brutal war,” Satterfield said.
“Russia has proven, time and again, it has no regard for and is incapable of following the rules — in international sport and in international law.”
“We have strong concerns on how feasible it is for Russian and Belarusian Olympic athletes to compete as ‘neutrals’ — under the IOC’s conditions of no identification with their country — when they are directly funded and supported by their states (unlike, for example, professional tennis players).
“The strong links and affiliations between Russian athletes and the Russian military are also of clear concern. Our collective approach throughout has therefore never been one of discrimination simply on the basis of nationality, but these strong concerns need to be dealt with by the IOC.”
UK culture secretary Lucy Frazer also said: “We agree that [Russia’s president, Vladimir] Putin cannot use sport to legitimise his actions on the world stage.
“This coalition of nations has supported Ukraine on multiple fronts and we will continue to do so. Today we are setting out our serious concerns with the International Olympic Committee’s plans which could see a route back into elite athletics for Russia and Belarus. Any plans to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in Paris are not credible.”
The joint letter to the IOC follows a summit earlier this month in London attended by France, Britain, the United States and Canada, among others.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke at the conference.
“We firmly believe that, given there has been no change in the situation regarding the Russian aggression in Ukraine… there is no practical reason to move away from the exclusion regime for Russian and Belarusian athletes set by the IOC,” the letter read.
“As long as these fundamental issues and the substantial lack of clarity and concrete detail on a workable ‘neutrality’ model are not addressed, we do not agree that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed back into competition,” the letter concluded.
