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Interacting with EOC before sport arbitration ruling pointless — Russian Olympic Committee

"The ROC has still not received any acceptable explanations or apologies for being wrongfully barred from all EOC events since February 2022," the statement noted

MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/. The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) has received no explanations or apologies for being sidelined from the General Assembly meeting of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) and sees no point in interacting with the European Olympic body until the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issues a ruling, the ROC said in a statement on Friday.

"In view of the latest round of the farce being perpetrated by the EOC head, as voiced in his comments to a pro-Western news outlet, the ROC deems it necessary to state the following: In June 2022, the ROC was unjustifiably deprived of the opportunity to participate in the EOC General Assembly - at first, as regards in-person attendance, and then via video link," the statement, posted on the ROC’s official website, reads.

"The ROC has still not received any acceptable explanations or apologies for being wrongfully barred from all EOC events since February 2022," the statement continued. "In this regard, there is no practical sense in having any interaction with the EOC as of today."

"The ROC challenged the EOC's decisions in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, demanding that they be recognized as illegal and that our rights as a full-fledged member of this organization be guaranteed."

"Therefore, our decisions on future steps will be made only after the CAS hearings on the issue in July," the ROC added.

Russia’s governing Olympic sports body also outlined that this year’s EOC General Assembly, which is being held in Turkey’s Istanbul on October 6-7, does not plan to discuss clearing Russia’s athletes to take part in international competition..

IOC sanctions against Russia

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.

In late March, 2023, the IOC recommended 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. Russia and Belarus were also banned from participating in international team events.

No clear-cut decision has been made on behalf of the IOC regarding the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

The French capital of Paris is scheduled to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games between July 26 and August 11, 2024.