More than 30 nations' governments requested “clarification” from the IOC on Monday on how Russian and Belarusian athletes will be permitted to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympics as neutral athletes.
Since the start of the conflict, Russia and its partner Belarus have been excluded from the majority of Olympic sports. Belarus enabled its land to be used as a launchpad when Moscow started its invasion of Ukraine in February.
Russia and Belarus athletes will compete in the Paris Games under a neutral flag, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has angered Ukraine.
But, the nations voiced worry in a joint letter seen by AFP, citing in particular the “strong linkages and affiliations between Russian sportsmen and the Russian military.”
The letter, which was seen by AFP, said that “we have great reservations about how viable it is for Russian and Belarusian Olympic athletes to participate as 'neutrals'… when they are directly paid and supported by their nations.”
It said that “the IOC must address these serious issues.”
The letter was sent in response to a conference that France, Britain, the United States, and Canada convened earlier this month in London.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, also spoke at the gathering.
“We strongly feel that there is no practical reason to shift away from the exclusion rule for Russian and Belarusian athletes imposed by the IOC… given that there has been no change in the circumstances surrounding the Russian aggression in Ukraine,” the letter said.
“We do not believe that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be permitted back into competition as long as these basic difficulties and the severe lack of clarity and clear information on a feasible 'neutrality' approach are not addressed,” the letter said.
