VLADIVOSTOK, September 4. /TASS/. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) Executive Board must reinstate the rights of the Russian Olympic Committee to pave the way for the country returning to international competition, Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev said on Thursday.
"We welcome the election of Ms. [Kirsty] Coventry [as IOC president]," Degtyarev, who also serves as the president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) said.
"She’s now in office and our [ROC] case is under consideration by the IOC legal commission," he continued speaking at the ‘Sports Diplomacy: New Challenges and Opportunities’ session held within the framework of the 2025 Eastern Economic Forum.
"We are waiting for the decision of the IOC Executive Board to reinstate the rights of the [Russian] Olympic Committee," the Russian sports chief noted. "Until the rights [of the ROC] are restored, no decisions on the admission of the [Russian] national team to international competitions can be made."
"The first step must be the reinstatement of the Russian Olympic Committee," Degtyarev concluded.
The 10th Eastern Economic Forum is taking place in Vladivostok from September 3 to 6 under the theme "The Far East: Cooperation for Peace and Prosperity." The business program will feature more than 100 thematic sessions divided into seven tracks.
The forum is expected to bring together over 4,500 participants from more than 70 countries and territories. The Roscongress Foundation is the organizer of the EEF, with TASS as its general information partner.
IOC sanctions against Russia, Belarus
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to prohibit athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating 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 allowing individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international sports tournaments, but only under specific 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.