ST. PETERSBURG, June 15. /TASS/. The suspension of Russian athletes from global tournaments has undermined the financial situation of international sports federations and diminished the level of competitions, Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said on Thursday.

"In the past, many international tournaments with the participation of our national teams were mostly held abroad and our spectators rarely had a chance to watch [sports] stars here [in Russia]," Matytsin said, speaking at the 2023 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"However, the level of [domestic] competition is on the rise, as each athlete strives to prove his or her mettle through Russia’s own sports championships, and young athletes are already hot on the heels [of international sports stars]," the sports minister elaborated. "We are organizing tournaments at the regional level and spectators are seeing major competitions."

Asked about the current paucity of Russian athletes at international tournaments, Matytsin said: "I don’t believe that this represents our [the Russian Sports Ministry’s] failure, because our absence has undermined both the financial side of things [in global sports] and the competitions themselves."

The sports minister also underscored that he saw no need for Russia to beg international sports federations to allow its national athletes to compete in global tournaments since any such dialogue must be based on equitable terms.

"I believe it is necessary to hold equitable dialogues with all [international sports] federations and there is no need to beg anyone [for anything]," Matytsin said.

"I stand against discrimination [against Russian athletes], which includes [the imposition of] neutral status. Certain sports federations also require signing [by Russian athletes] of some kind of [exculpatory] declarations, which is totally unacceptable," Matytsin said.

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.

The 26th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) — Russia’s showcase annual economic and business event — is being held on June 14-17. The theme of this year’s forum is: "Sovereign Development as the Basis of a Just World: Joining Forces for Future Generations." TASS is the official information partner of the event.

SPIEF’s expanded business program offers attendees the opportunity to participate in more than 140 sessions featuring over 1,000 moderators and speakers, according to event organizer Roscongress Foundation.