MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. /TASS/. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has left unchanged its recommendations regarding the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in competitions despite the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee’s membership.

"The Summit was informed that, despite the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), the IOC did not change its recommendations concerning the participation of Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN). It was emphasized that such protection of the rights of individual athletes to participate in competitions despite the suspension of their National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a well-established practice, respecting human rights, and has been implemented across a number of suspended NOCs during past Olympic Games," the IOC said in a news release.

On October 12, the IOC Executive Board suspended the ROC until further notice due to the inclusion of the Olympic councils of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in the committee.

On February 28, 2022, the IOC recommended international sports federations to bar Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions because of the situation in Ukraine. On March 28 this year, the IOC Executive Board recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes be allowed to participate in international competitions in a neutral status and only on the condition they have not publicly expressed support for the special operation in Ukraine and are not associated with the armed forces or national security agencies. Russian and Belarusian athletes must not be represented in team sports.