34 governments are putting pressure on the IOC to decide whether Russian and Belarusian athletes under neutral flags can again compete in international competitions. Until their questions are resolved, they will not accept a return.
Can Russian and Belarusian athletes return to the international sports stage under a neutral flag? After the International Olympic Committee insisted on the autonomy of sports organizations in this debate, the governments of 34 nations are now putting pressure on them. They call for the concept of “neutrality” to be clarified.
Germany also wants answers
“We are very concerned about how it is possible for Russian and Belarusian Olympic athletes to compete as ‘neutrals’ when they are directly funded and supported by their states“, says the statement published by the British government on Monday (February 20, 2023).
In addition to Great Britain, the signatories to the letter include Germany, the USA, France and Canada. The statement is the result of a summit meeting earlier this month in London, which was also attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Governments: No approval under these circumstances
“Until these fundamental issues and the significant lack of clarity and concrete details of a workable ‘neutrality’ model are resolved, we do not agree to Russian and Belarusian athletes being allowed to compete again“, the letter continues.
Especially the “strong connections and affiliations between Russian athletes and the Russian military” make the state coalition skeptical. “Those strong concerns“, the alliance continued, “must be taken up by the IOC.”
MEPs put pressure on IOC
The IOC had previously criticized a statement by the European Parliament and stressed that the autonomy of sports organizations is “in clear contradiction to the unifying peace-building mandate of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Charter, which has been approved several times by the European Union and its member states“As an IOC spokesman said.
In a resolution last week, the MEPs called on the 27 EU states and the international community to put pressure on the IOC to do its thing “shameful decision undone” make. Allowing athletes from the two countries to compete under a neutral flag runs counter to the multifaceted isolation of these countries and is being used by both regimes for propaganda purposes, it said.
No decision made yet
The IOC had previously said it was looking into a “way” to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the Paris Games under a neutral flag. On Monday, the IOC made it clear that no decision had been made and referred to the concerns of two United Nations special rapporteurs. They had asked the IOC to ensure that athletes were not discriminated against based on their nationality.
A possible re-admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the sports stage has been the subject of heated debate for weeks. Ukraine threatens to boycott the Olympics. Former boxing world champion Wladimir Klitschko recently asked IOC boss Thomas Bach to get his own picture of the war in Ukraine.
Wladimir Klitschko is critical
“Mr. Bach should go to Bucha. It’s time he compared the propaganda from Moscow with the reality on the ground,” Klitschko said in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper”. Clear criticism also came from the Baltic states.
