MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. The Russian Olympic Committee’s (ROC) development strategy aims to remove all sanctions imposed on Russia at international competitions, and make sure athletes compete under the national flag and anthem, Russian Sports Minister and newly-elected ROC President Mikhail Degtyarev said on Friday.

"The ROC development strategy we are working on, as well as the ROC’s updated edition of the organization’s charter, are in line with the goals that meet the requirements of the Olympic Charter," Degtyarev said speaking during the convention.

"[The ROC’s Charter] sets out clear goals, those being: to lift all restrictions, full participation of our athletes in all international competitions under the national flag of Russia, integration into international sports organizations, restoration of the status of RUSADA [the Russian Anti-Doping Agency] and recognition of our committee within the IOC," Degtyarev stated.

He also said that it was important for Russia to keep a level head and preserve the opportunity for its athletes to keep earning medals at various international tournaments.

"Russia has faced unprecedented external pressure, with thousands of our athletes being subjected to discriminatory sanctions," Degtyarev stated. "The purpose of these sanctions is clear—not only to marginalize Russian sports but to provoke us into rash decisions and shutting the door entirely."

"It’s no mystery what they’re after. Russia will either be kept off the world stage for decades or it may never return at all," Russia’s senior sports official noted.

"It is crucial that we keep our emotions in check, so that we can avoid this fatal scenario, and make sure our athletes can keep bringing home medals at international tournaments, to Russia," Degtyarev said. "They [the neutral athletes] have never hidden their Russian citizenship. The whole world knows what country they represent and they sympathize with them."

He also said that behind the scenes, heads of international sports organizations are talking about lifting sanctions against Russian athletes.

"It’s high time [members] international sports organizations stopped their aggressive rhetoric," Degtyarev said. "Many of them, including members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), understood long ago that international sports without Russia’s participation 'just isn't the same'."

"During numerous informal contacts, they keep saying outwardly, as many of you are aware, that they want Russia to come back to the international movement," Degtyarev added.

Earlier in the day, Degtyarev was elected the ROC’s new president. Degtyarev was the only candidate running in the election, which took place at the Olympic convention in Moscow on Friday. In an open vote, he received 197 votes, with two people abstaining.

The 43-year-old new ROC president became the country’s sports minister in May, and he will hold both positions moving forward. Degtyarev replaces previous ROC chief Stanislav Pozdnyakov.

On October 15, ROC President Stanislav Pozdnyakov proposed that the ROC Executive Committee hold early elections in December, after which he would officially step down from his post.

IOC sanctions against Russia, Belarus

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.

On October 12, 2023, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until further notice after the Russian organization included the Olympic councils of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions as its members.