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Kremlin spokesman considers IOC's position on Russian, Belarusian athletes to be unfair

According to Dmitry Peskov, Russia strongly opposes attempts to politicize sports

MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/. The Kremlin believes that the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) stance on inviting Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Paris Olympics is unfair, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

According to earlier reports, the IOC will not send Russia or Belarus invitations to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on the set date of July 26. The IOC pointed out that a final decision on the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes would be made in due time.

"We don’t think that it (the IOC’s decision - TASS) is fair," the Kremlin spokesman noted.

According to him, Russia strongly opposes attempts to politicize sports. "We certainly believe that our athletes should have the right to compete in international tournaments and we will continue to work with everyone, including the IOC, in order to protect the rights of our athletes," Peskov stressed.

On March 28, the IOC issued recommendations that athletes from Russia and Belarus be allowed to compete in international tournaments only as neutrals, provided that they have not made public statements in support of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and are not affiliated with the Russian Armed Forces and national security agencies. The IOC’s initiatives aren’t binding and don’t apply to the upcoming Olympic Games. It’s international sports federations that are expected to establish the admission criteria for Russian athletes.