The International Gymnastics Federation postponed a decision on the reintegration of Russian and Belarusian athletes into international competitions, reports AFP.

According to the president of the Russian Gymnastics Federation, the forum will make a decision in July.

“At this stage, the International Gymnastics Federation cannot reach an agreement on the criteria for neutrality of athletes, so it was decided to postpone the discussion of the admission issue (of Russians and Belarusians) until the next meeting of the executive committee in July,” he said. Vasyl Titov for the Russian news agency TASS.

Russian and Belarusian gymnasts are currently banned from international competitions under sports sanctions imposed after Moscow launched an offensive against Ukraine with logistical support from Minsk.

The issue of their reintegration will be on the agenda of the meeting of the International Gymnastics Federation, which will be held at the end of the week in Turkey.

Last month, the president of the federation, Japanese Morinari Watanabe, spoke in favor of the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes who are not participating in the conflict in Ukraine.

In the near future, the postponement of the decision announced by Titov may actually jeopardize any hope of the selection of Russian and Belarusian athletes for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris, as they will not be able to participate in important qualifying tournaments until the decision is made, Novosti .ro writes.