MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. Present-day international sanctions against the Russian sports world are aimed at ruining Russia’s self-identity and seek to erode respect for the country’s national traditions and values, Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said on Tuesday.

"It seems to me that this is some sort of a strategy targeted at destroying consciousness and [national] identity, as well as respect for the traditions, values and culture of our country," Matytsin said during a meeting with Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RHF) President Vladislav Tretiak broadcast on the Rossiya-24 television channel. "This is why we will certainly keep on fighting."

The Russian sports minister lauded as an example for international sports organizations the recent boxing world championship in Uzbekistan, where athletes from Russia and Belarus were cleared to participate under their respective national flags and to the tune of their respective national anthems.

The 2023 International Boxing Association (IBA) World Boxing Championship was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, between April 30 and May 14.

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.

At its session on January 25, 2023, the IOC Executive Board put forward a proposal 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.