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Russian Sports Ministry to work to bring athletes back to int’l competition — minister

"In general, the course is set - a full return to the Olympic Games, a full-fledged one," Mikhail Degtyarev said

MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. The Russian Sports Ministry and the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) will do all they can to ensure the full return of Russian athletes to the international arena, Russian Sports Minister and President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Mikhail Degtyarev said on Tuesday.

"We will do everything in our power to bring our national team fully back to competition. In general, the course is set - a full return to the Olympic Games, a full-fledged one. And no one can speak for us better than our athletes," Degtyarev said at a reception ceremony of Russian athletes, who participated in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy.

"Keep it up. Keep training. Win licenses and win medals," he added.

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games took place in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from February 6-22, 2026. Thirteen Russian athletes competed under a neutral status in figure skating, speed skating, short track, freestyle skiing, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, luge and ski mountaineering.

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.

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