KYIV: Ukraine’s sports ministry condemned on Wednesday what it said was a partial change of position by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in international competitions as neutrals.

The IOC issued recommendations on Tuesday for the athletes’ gradual return to world sport, with President Thomas Bach saying their participation “works” despite Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine condemns the partial change of the position of the International Olym­pic Committee regarding the non-admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes,” a written ministry statement said.

“We have consistently advocated and will continue to insist that under the conditions of the unprecedented unprovoked military aggression of the Russian Federation with the support of the Republic of Belarus against Ukraine, which contradicts the principles of the Olympic Charter, representatives of aggressor states should not be present at international sports arenas.”

The ministry said the recommendations should primarily be applied to sports where athletes from Russia and Belarus have already been admitted to competitions.

The head of Russia’s Olympic Committee said the criteria announced by the IOC were unacceptable. The Kremlin said the IOC’s guidelines that allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in contained “elements of discrimination”.

Guidelines issued by the Lausanne-based IOC have infu­ri­ated Russian authorities, however, who say any move to deprive athletes of their nati­onal symbols is discriminatory.

“Such recommendations were characterized as containing elements of discrimination, which is unacceptable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. “We will continue to defend the interests of our athletes in every possible way.”

Bach said that it would be up to international sports federations to decide which athletes from Russia and Belarus can compete as neutrals, meaning without their national flag or country’s anthem.

According to the guidelines, athletes from Russia and Belarus cannot take part in team events and must have a proven drugs testing record, while athletes who support the war or are contracted to their countries’ military or national security agency are excluded.

The recommendations made by the IOC executive board concern the return of athletes to international competitions but not specifically the 2024 Paris Olympics, for which a separate decision will be taken at a later date.

Ukraine and some of its allies have threatened to boycott the Paris Games should they compete, even as neutrals.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2023