Zelensky urges banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from 2024 Olympics

The Paris Olympics are still two years away, but the question is already being asked whether Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete under their country's flags.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky weighed in on Wednesday, urging the International Olympic Committee to ban the participation of such athletes regardless of the flag they are carrying, days after the top official of the committee expressed a new tone of openness on easing restrictions.

In a phone call with committee chairman Thomas Bach, Mr. Zelensky said allowing athletes to compete under a neutral flag would not be enough to punish Russia.

"Since February, 184 Ukrainian athletes have died as a result of the actions of Russia," Zelensky said on the call, according to a reading from the Ukrainian ien office of the president. "You cannot try to be neutral when the foundations of a peaceful life are destroyed and universal human values ​​are ignored."

In February, the C.I.O. recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes be excluded from competitions, breaking with the organization's typical position that athletes should not be punished for the actions of their government.

In a statement, the organization cited "the integrity of global sports competitions" and "the safety of all participants" as two factors in the decision, which was made "with a heavy heart". There are certain situations in which athletes may be allowed to compete as neutral athletes, the statement said.

But in recent days, IOC officials do not know not whether Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Although the organization has not changed its official guidelines since February, there are signs that it is looking to ease its restrictions.

"We must explore ways to overcome this dilemma with regard to athlete participation and return to sporting merits and not political interference," said Mr. Bach at a press conference last week, according to Reuters.

Mr Bach stressed that the initial IOC guidelines were about athlete safety. we never did and we didn't want to do re, is to prohibit athletes from participating in competitions solely because of their passports," he said, adding that the IOC has not yet set a date to make a decision.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">In the past, athletes from countries under Olympic sanctions were allowed to compete under an Olympic flag rather than their national flag. Russian athletes made it to the Beijing Olympics in February after Russia was embroiled in a major doping scandal at the 2014 Olympics. And in 1980 when many nations boycotted the Moscow Olympics following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, some athletes from boycotting countries competed under neutral flags. "return route" for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral flag. A group of high-ranking Olympic officials from around the world met in Lausanne, Switzerland last week to discuss the issue.

"We have agreed that there would now be exploration and consultation with stakeholders to see if there might be a pathway for these individual athletes to return as neutrals,” said Susanne Lyons, President of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee , according to Reuters.

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