UNITED NATIONS, April 29. /TASS/. Russia condemns the politicized practice of depriving Russian and Belarusian athletes of the right to participate in international competitions, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin told reporters.

"Our principled position is that this issue must not be politicized and athletes must not be denied participation in sports events on political grounds," the senior Russian diplomat said, commenting on the restrictions imposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Russian athletes.

"Unfortunately, this takes place. We certainly condemn this," Vershinin said.