With just over a year left until the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, it remains unclear whether Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to participate and, if so, under which flag.
French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castréra – a former junior tennis star – certainly has her opinion clear.
"We will not accept athletes with close links to the Russian or Belarusian army participating in the Games and we urge the IOC to go much further in its recommendations on neutrality," she said at the EU meeting of sports ministers in Brussels on Monday.
"Leads to division"
From the Swedish government's side, sports director for social affairs Jakob Forssmed is not impressed with how the matter has been handled by the IOC.
"The IOC did a good thing when it put its foot down early and said you can't see that they can participate. But now they have begun to sway and open up for participation under certain conditions, Forssmed told TT and SR Ekot before the meeting.
"The IOC has also passed the ball on and said that now it is up to all the different federations to start taking a stand. This is not a good development. It leads to divisions in the sports world and does not provide clarity about what applies, says Forssmed in Brussels.
Neutral flag?
Monday's EU talks are so far only at the level of discussion. What the consequences in the future may be is unclear. EU countries have so far confined themselves to sending their comments by letter to the IOC – almost mandatorily, although Hungary has stood out by not wanting to sign.
Forssmed is also clearly hesitant about a neutral flag solution.
"Russian athletes are very often state-subsidised, often employed by the army. How do you achieve that neutrality? asks the minister, pointing on the other hand to another possibility for those Russians who still want to compete.
"There is always a possibility if you are a defector that you can compete for the refugee team. That possibility also exists for Russian athletes, says Forssmed.
Requires stop
Several of the participants in the EU meeting on Monday demand that Russia be stopped outright.
"Let us not bow to pressure from those who support Putin's regime. I hope there will be no Russian or Belarusian participants in Paris," Polish Sports Minister Kamil Bortniczuk said in the debate in Brussels.
ARCHIVE: IOC chief Christophe Dubi: Why Russian athletes can be allowed to compete in the Olympics again (February 19, 2023)
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Christophe Dubi at the IOC does not want to speculate on what it will take for Maria Lasitskene and the other Russian athletes to compete under a neutral flag in the next Olympics. Photo: David J. Philip AP/TT