The International Olympic Committee announced on Friday that it will allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics if they do not actively support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia considers the conditions announced by the IOC to be discriminatory

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee banned Russians and Belarusians from world sport until the end of February 2022, but has now moved in two stages to secure their return.

The explanation was that athletes should not have to pay for mistakes or actions of the government.

At the same time, in March, the IOC recommended that international federations reintegrate Russians and Belarusians under a neutral flag in their competitions.

According to the IOC statement, only eleven “individual neutral athletes”, including eight Russians and three Belarusians, have so far qualified for the 2024 Olympics, compared to around sixty Ukrainian athletes.

The IOC has been waiting to assess the conduct of the competition, which is generally considered satisfactory, and to see the evolution of the position of the Ukrainian government, which initially asked its athletes to boycott any competition involving Russians before softening its stance for this summer, reports Agerpres.

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matitin reacted to the announcement of the conditions for participation in the Olympic Games in Paris and stated that they are discriminatory.

“The conditions are discriminatory and contradict sports principles. They harm the Olympics, not Russian sports. This approach is categorically unacceptable.

We always cheer for our own, they are our athletes, members of our sports family.” he said, TASS reports.