MOSCOW, May 21. /TASS/. Unfriendly countries could move to once again impose sanctions on the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC), making it all-important for the organization to maintain international cooperation, RPC President Pavel Rozhkov said on Thursday.
"An important decision was announced in Seoul last year to lift sanctions from our [Russian] Paralympic Committee," Rozhkov said speaking at a Russia-hosted international forum titled "Development of international sports cooperation."
"There’s still a chance that these decisions could be reversed," he continued. "Unfriendly countries could again move to exclude the RPC from the Paralympic movement."
"Therefore, it is important to maintain international cooperation. Representatives of 40 countries have come to us today [for the conference in Russia], they weren’t afraid. We pay special attention to diplomacy, learning a lesson in this regard over the past 10 years."
The Russian national team was allowed to participate in the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy earlier in the year under the country’s flag and to the tune of the national anthem.
While only six Russian Para athletes received so-called bipartite invitations to participate in the 2026 Winter Paralympics, they won the third-most golds of any country at the Games.
China won the most gold medals as well as leading the overall medal standings (15 gold, 13 silver and 16 bronze medals), while the US was second in both categories (13-5-6).
The six Russians who took part in the 2026 Winter Paralympics were: three-time Paralympic Champion in alpine skiing Alexey Bugaev, two-time World Champion in alpine skiing Varvara Voronchikhina, multiple World Champion in para cross-country skiing Ivan Golubkov, World Championship medalist in para cross-country skiing Anastasia Bagiyan and her guide Sergey Sinyakin, and para snowboarders Dmitry Fadeyev and Philipp Shebbo Monzer.
Russia’s Voronchikhina won two gold, one silver and one bronze medals at the 2026 Paralympics. Bugayev took one gold and two bronze medals in alpine skiing, while cross country skiers Bagiyan and Golubkov won three and two golds in women's and men’s competitions respectively.