MOSCOW, November 3. /TASS/. The International Olympic Committee’s Charter contains no mention of a so-called ‘Olympic truce’ so it cannot be employed to discriminate against athletes representing any particular country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"We must mention once again that the term ‘Olympic truce’ is not mentioned anywhere in the Olympic Charter," the statement reads.

"This category is employed solely by UN General Assembly resolutions, it is addressed to international legal entities, UN member states and cannot be used as a pretext by international sports organizations for discrimination against athletes any particular country," the statement reads.

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Russia urged the International Olympic Committee to refuse the policy of double standards and insisted on the reinstatement of Russian and Belarusian athletes in their rights.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman, Russia insists "on the full reinstatement of all Russian and Belarusian athletes, who have suffered from the [International Olympic] Committee's targeted politicization of the sports agenda."

The IOC warned earlier in the week that it would resort to prompt measures regarding athletes and sports officials, who may display a discriminatory behavior towards representatives of Israel.

IOC sanctions against Russia

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

In late March, 2023, the IOC recommended to permit individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international sports tournaments, but only under certain conditions. Specifically, athletes from the two countries should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status. Russia and Belarus were also banned from participating in international team events.