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Int’l sports organizations busy with politics instead of protecting Olympic values — Putin

"We are all well aware of the present-day developments in the modern sports of high achievements," the Russian president said

MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. International sports organizations are busier today with political agenda instead of protecting Olympic ideals, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.

"We are all well aware of the present-day developments in the modern sports of high achievements," Putin said at a meeting with Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev, who also serves as the president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).

"International sports organizations, which I believe, are becoming more involved in politics, are guided by the current political agenda, instead of defending the ideals of Olympism," Putin said.

IOC sanctions against Russia, Belarus

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to prohibit athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating 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 allowing individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international sports tournaments, but only under specific 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.

On October 12, 2023, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until further notice after the Russian organization included the Olympic councils of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions as its members.