MOSCOW, July 13./TASS/. Russia will not consent to participating in international competitions if its athletes are compelled to publicly condemn the special military operation in order to take part, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko told journalists on Thursday.

Earlier, it became known that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would not be issuing invitations to Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Paris Olympics on the designated date, July 26. The IOC also said that a final decision regarding Russian and Belarusian athletes would be made "at the appropriate time."

"Of course, we always hope to be invited, do not reject anything on our own and are very happy when our athletes get a chance to participate," the deputy prime minister said. "The question, though, is: In exchange for what? If in order to do so, one has to reject one’s homeland and betray it, then, of course, it does not suit us. On top of those humiliations that the Anglo-Saxons dreamt up when they say: 'Compete under a neutral flag and without a national anthem,' now they are adding that one has to publicly condemn our decision to conduct the special military operation. Of course, we don’t agree to this," he added.

Chernyshenko noted that he did not see any sense in litigating the legality of the sanctions imposed on Russian sports at this time. "What’s the point? Of course, we are accumulating all the necessary documentation wherever possible in order for time to be our [ultimate] judge in the courts and [then the documents] can be presented," he concluded.

On March 28, the IOC recommended that individual athletes from Russia and Belarus be permitted to compete in international sports tournaments, but only under certain conditions. Specifically, athletes from the two countries should not have voiced "active support" for Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status.