MOSCOW, December 8. /TASS/. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has cleared athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris under a neutral status. The IOC’s press office said in a statement on Friday.
"The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided that Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) who have qualified through the existing qualification systems of the International Federations (IFs) on the field of play will be declared eligible to compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in accordance with the conditions outlined below - Individual Neutral Athletes are athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport," the statement reads.
"Qualified athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport will be entered as, and compete as, Individual Neutral Athletes ("INAs")," the IOC statement reads. "Teams of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport will not be considered."
The IOC ruled against any demonstration of Russian and Belarusian state symbols at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and also reiterated its previous decision to bar athletes of these countries from all team competitions.
"No flag, anthem, colors or any other identifications whatsoever of Russia or Belarus will be displayed at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in any official venue or any official function," the world’s governing Olympic body said in its statement.
The IOC also stated that a total of 11 athletes from Russia and Belarus were allowed to participate under a neutral status in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in France.
"The Individual Neutral Athletes will be invited by the IOC and their respective IFs [International Federations]," the statement reads. "Only a very limited number of athletes will qualify through the existing qualification systems of the IFs."
"Among the 4,600 athletes from around the world who have qualified for Paris 2024 so far, there are only 11 Individual Neutral Athletes (eight with a Russian passport plus three with a Belarusian passport)," the IOC stated.
"Like all the other athletes, they will also have to sign the updated Conditions of Participation applicable for Paris 2024. This contains a commitment to respect the Olympic Charter, including ‘the peace mission of the Olympic Movement’," the statement reads.
The IOC also pointed out that no state-level officials from Russia and Belarus would be allowed to attend the Olympics in France next year.
"No Russian or Belarusian government or state officials will be invited to or accredited for the Olympic Games Paris 2024," according to the IOC.
IOC sanctions against Russia, Belarus
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee 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.
On July 26, 2023, the IOC extended invitations to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris to 203 National Olympic Committees. Russia and Belarus did not receive invitations. The IOC explained later that there was no deadline regarding the issue of Russian and Belarusian athletes’ participation.