More than 30 nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, have reiterated their opposition to the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete internationally, at least until the war in Ukraine ends.
Through a joint statement, the aforementioned nations thus wanted to respond to the recent opening of the IOC, which hypothesized the readmission of athletes from Russia and Belarus, albeit in the form of 'neutrals', already at the next Olympic Games, in Paris in 2024.
"The situation in Ukraine continues to worsen and therefore there is no reason for the IOC to review its previous suspension - reads the note signed by the respective governments and released by the British Olympic Committee -. There are serious doubts about how Russian athletes and Belarusians can compete on a neutral basis since they are directly supported financially by their respective countries.And then there are close ties and affiliations between Russian athletes and the Russian military.Russia and Belarus can facilitate the return of their athletes to international sports by ending the war they started".