MOSCOW, May 7. /TASS/. The recently announced decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to maintain sanctions against the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is disappointing, a senior Russian sports official said.

Russian Sports Minister and President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Mikhail Degtyarev said that Russia would nevertheless continue to work toward fully reinstating the rights of its athletes.

Earlier in the day, the IOC Executive Board recommended to lift all previously imposed restrictions against athletes from Belarus, both in individual and team competitions, but it ruled to keep them in force for Russian athletes.

"The International Olympic Committee's Executive Board has lifted all restrictions on Belarusian athletes. We welcome this decision regarding our Union Republic and expect it to lay the ground for a similar decision in regard to the Russian Olympic Committee," Degtyarev stated.

"But at the same time, we are disappointed that the IOC's legal commission failed to issue a verdict on the Russian Olympic Committee's case and has once again postponed it," Degtyarev continued.

"I would like to remind everyone that the ROC provided the IOC with an ample package of documents long ago that prove there are no legal grounds for the ROC's continued ban," he said. "Our lawyers have sent a request to the IOC regarding the status of these documents. We will make a decision regarding our next steps based on the IOC's response."

Russia’s top sports official added that: "It is unacceptable to link any unrelated issues to decisions that are made."

"The reinstatement process has been obviously been delayed and we see no reason behind this," he noted.

"It’s particularly true, in view of the positive development of Russian juniors being allowed to compete in international tournaments in more than 20 sports events - swimmers, judokas, kickboxers, Sambo [wrestlers] and MMA fighters - and a number of other sports in all age categories under the Russian flag and anthem," Degtyarev stated.

"Since the beginning of 2026, the Russian flag has been hoisted over 80 times at various World and European championships and cups as well as other events. The Sports Ministry and the Russian Olympic Committee will keep up with their energetic diplomatic and legal efforts to fully restore the rights of all Russian athletes," Degtyarev added.

On February 28, 2022, the 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 December 2025, the IOC Executive Board issued recommendations that allowed athletes in international federations from Russia and Belarus to participate in youth disciplines under the national flags and anthems. This recommendation applied to both individual and team sports. Numerous international sports federations followed the proposal.