NICOSIA, April 16. /TASS/. Member states of the European Union should safeguard the autonomy of sports and side with the political neutrality of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the principles of the Olympic Games, IOC President Kirsty Coventry said on Thursday.

"The athletes reminded us what excellence, friendship and respect look like in a world that sometimes forgets these values," the IOC press office quoted Coventry as saying in a video message to the European Union (EU) Sport Forum on April 16. "They showed us what humanity can be at its very best, inspiring generations around the world with the Olympic spirit."

"Athletes can only inspire us if they are able to compete," she emphasized. "They can only do so if we keep sport strictly neutral ground. If politics does not take over on the field of play."

"For all of us, this means that we must protect the autonomy of sport. So that we can tell all the athletes, no matter where they come from: yes, you can compete freely, without political interference beyond your control," the IOC president stated.

"I call on the EU and its Member States to stand by these principles that you have recognised so often: respect the autonomy of sport and support the political neutrality of the IOC and of the Olympic Games. Because only then can the power of sport truly unfold," she concluded.

Last June, two-time Olympic Champion Kirsty Coventry from Zimbabwe officially assumed the office of the IOC president, replacing Germany’s Thomas Bach, who served as the 9th IOC president between 2013 and 2025.

Coventry is a two-time Olympic swimming champion in the 200-meter backstroke (2004 and 2008). She also has three Olympic silvers and one bronze, in addition to being a three-time world champion.

The new IOC president had also served as Zimbabwe's Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture since 2018. Coventry has been a member of the IOC Executive Board since 2023, previously also holding a seat on the board between 2018 and 2021.

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.