MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision announced earlier in the day to lift earlier-imposed restrictions on Russian athletes will accelerate the process of their full-fledged return to international competition, Russian Sports Minister and President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Mikhail Degtyarev said on Tuesday.

"The IOC Executive Board decided to reinstate the Russian Olympic Committee and reversed its decision with recommendations regarding the participation of Russian athletes under a neutral status and a ban [on participation] in team competitions," Degtyarev stated on his Telegram social network account.

"All eligibility checks on the neutral status of Russian athletes have been scrapped. The IOC has lifted its ban on holding international competitions in Russia," he continued.

"As of today, over 20 international sports federations have allowed [Russian] youth athletes to compete under the Russian flag and to the tune of the national anthem, while 10 federations cleared all athletes without restrictions. The IOC's decision will significantly speed up this process," Degtyarev noted.

"There is still a lot of work to be done to implement the IOC's decisions in international organizations, but the IOC is sending a clear message - the Olympic movement must not be politicized," he added.

The IOC announced earlier in the day that it was provisionally lifting its previously imposed suspension of the ROC. The IOC Executive Board also recommended lifting restrictions on the participation of Russian athletes in all international tournaments.

IOC previously-imposed sanctions against Russia, Belarus

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 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 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.