SAMARA, November 5. /TASS/. Five hundred Russian athletes have been granted permission to participate in international tournaments this year alone, Russian Sports Minister and President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Mikhail Degtyarev said on Wednesday.

"As of today we have more than 4,000 athletes in 28 Olympic sports eligible to compete in international competitions. Five hundred of them have received permissions this year. In a number of sports, our athletes have been allowed to compete in team events," Degtyarev said at the ‘Russia: Country of Sports’ international sports forum.

The 13th Russia: Country of Sports annual international sports forum is taking place in Russia’s Volga River city of Samara on November 5-7. The annual forum was established in 2009 in accordance with a decree from the Russian president in order to develop physical culture and sport, international sports cooperation and promote a healthy lifestyle. TASS is the official information partner of the forum.

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.