Putin Calls Banning Russian Athletes From Int'l Competitions 'Ethnic Discrimination'

A ban on the participation of Russian athletes in international competitions is an "ethnic discrimination," Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday during his speech at the Forum "Russia — Country of Sports".

"Thanks to some leaders of the modern International Olympic Committee, we learned that an invitation to the [Olympic] Games is not an unconditional right of the best athletes, but a kind of privilege, and it can be earned not by sports results, but by some political gestures that have nothing to do with sports at all," Putin told the forum. "In fact, this is Russian ethnic discrimination."

According to the Russian leader, the true "great mission" of sport is to "strengthen the friendship of peoples, educate new generations of harmonious, responsible and strong-willed people."

Earlier, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Athletics suspended the Russian and Belarusian Olympic Committees due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The IOC recommended in March that Russians be allowed to compete as individual neutral athletes as long as they are not actively supporting Russia in its conflict with Ukraine or under contract with their national military or security agencies.

Despite this, several Western countries continued to pressure the IOC, calling for the total exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from competition.

"In some cases, interference in the autonomy of sport persists with governments advocating for a ban on all Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in competitions or even denying the issuance of visas. The IOC strongly rejects these government interferences and continues to closely monitor the situation," IOC Director for National Olympic Committees Relations James Macleod said on Sunday.