Russian official: Soon our athletes will be able to compete in the Olympic qualification

The President of the Russian Olympic Committee, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, said today, Friday, that the position of the participants in the summit of the International Olympic Committee indicates that there is no reason to further exclude Russian athletes.

Pozdnyakov wrote on his channel on the Telegram website: “Participants of the International Olympic Committee summit today unanimously concluded that there are no grounds for further suspension of the participation of athletes. This means that in the near future our athletes will be able to return to the international arena and compete in the qualifying for the Olympic Games.”

He explained: “Yes, of course, for this it is necessary, at a minimum, that the IOC cancel the current recommendations, but the general content and direction of today’s discussion testify, in my opinion, to the triumph of sports diplomacy and the general opinion that the efforts of the Russian Foreign Ministry and many of our colleagues who did not engage in empty, useless, and sometimes harmful conversations, but carried out purposeful and constructive work, and as a result, what few people believed in until recently can become a reality. The International Olympic Community today came up with a unified position that meets basic universal, sports and moral standards.

It is noteworthy that the Olympic Council of Asia called today, Friday, to promote the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in competitions under its banner, the International Olympic Committee said in a statement published on the organization’s website.

OCA Acting President Randhir Singh said there was no longer any reason in Asia to impose any measures against Russian and Belarusian athletes, but at the same time indicated that the existing sanctions would be respected.

At the end of February last year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that international sports federations prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing amid the Russian military operation in Ukraine, and a number of international federations followed the recommendation, while others allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under neutral flag.

Source: TASS

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