GENEVA, July 8. /TASS/. The Board of Administration of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) has ruled to lift all previously imposed restrictions against Russia, the FIVB press office announced in a statement on Wednesday.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced a decision on July 7 to provisionally lift an earlier-imposed suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and also recommended lifting restrictions on the participation of Russian athletes in all international tournaments.

"In line with the FIVB Board of Administration’s previous decision to follow IOC Executive Board (EB) recommendations, and following the IOC EB’s recent decision that its recommended conditions of participation, as they relate to Russian athletes and teams, are no longer applicable, Russian athletes and technical officials in all disciplines will be allowed to return to FIVB, World and Official competitions," the statement reads.

"This approach reflects the FIVB’s commitment to protecting the fundamental right of athletes to access sport regardless of their nationality," the statement continued.

"The Russian national teams shall also be restored to the World Ranking with the same World Ranking points as they had at the time that their points were frozen by the decision of the FIVB Board of Administration," according to the FIVB.

The top global authority added, however, that the issue of Russian athletes’ participation under the national flag and to the tune of the country’s anthem still remained open for further discussions.

"The display of the Russian flag, anthem, colours or any other identifications will be at the discretion of the FIVB and the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) and decided in due time in consultation with the relevant international sports organizations to guarantee the full participation of the athletes," the statement noted.

"In line with the IOC recommendation, a dedicated and comprehensive anti-doping testing plan will be developed and implemented through the International Testing Agency," the statement added.

IOC previously-imposed 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.