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Russian Sports Minister Matytsin reiterates country’s sports goals

"All of the above-mentioned factors provide for the stable development of the national system of sports and that is our aim for the nearest future and for the long-term perspective," Oleg Matytsin noted

MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. Among the major priorities of the Russian Sports Ministry is to create a strong, healthy nation and protect the rights of its national athletes, Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin told TASS on Tuesday.

"Our priority is still the same: the development of professional, amateur, mass and, especially, children's sports, as well as the protection of Russian athletes' rights, building a healthy nation, creating a good culture, and strengthening the athletic industry's material base," Matytsin said in an interview with TASS.

"All of the above-mentioned factors provide for the stable development of the national system of sports and that is our aim for the nearest future and for the long-term perspective," the Russian sports minister added.

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.

In November 2020, The Russian Cabinet of Ministers has approved the Russian Federation’s Strategy for the Physical Culture and Sports Development until 2030. The approved strategy lists 11 priority directions encompassing the fields of amateur, professional and mass sports.