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IOC dragging feet on admission of Russian athletes to shirk responsibility — legislator

"The IOC is thus relieving itself of responsibility to say later that they did everything they could," Svetlana Zhurova added

MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) wants to relieve itself of responsibility by claiming that there are no deadlines for making a decision on the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Olympic Games in Paris, Svetlana Zhurova, Olympic champion in speed skating and legislator, told TASS on Wednesday.

Earlier, IOC President Thomas Bach told reporters that the organization would not set any kind of timeline for making a decision on the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Olympic Games in Paris.

"This issue will be dragged out, they will keep these options in mind. The IOC is thus relieving itself of responsibility to say later that they did everything they could," Zhurova said.

In March of this year, the IOC Executive Board issued a recommendation to admit Russian and Belarusian athletes only under a neutral status, to include only those who have not publicly expressed support for the special operation in Ukraine and are not associated with the armed forces or national security agencies. Many international federations have not yet developed criteria for the return of Russian and Belarusian nationals to their competitions. At the same time, the IOC recommendations do not apply to the Olympic Games.