The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, continues to advocate for the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to competitions, including the 2024 Games in Paris. As an argument, the official cited a handful of examples of representatives of aggressor countries competing in tennis and cycling tournaments, as well as in the National Hockey League.

Bach said this before the opening of the IOC Executive Committee meeting, Reuters reports. He noted that the organisation is unlikely to be able to approve a decision that will suit all parties, hinting at the admission of Russia and Belarus to the Olympics.

"The participation of athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports in international competitions works. We see it almost every day in a number of sports, especially in tennis, but also in cycling, in some table tennis competitions. We see it in hockey, we see it in handball, we see it in football, other leagues in the United States and on other continents. There have been no incidents at any of these competitions. We will not be able to come up with a solution that will satisfy everyone. We may have to live with that," Bach said.

The head of the IOC preferred not to notice how Ukrainian symbols were banned at tournaments of the pro-Russian Fencing Federation (FIE) and anti-war posters were taken away from athletes. On January 25, the IOC issued a new statement on the suspension of athletes from Russia and Belarus, in which it noted that it was ready to consider the return of athletes from these countries to international competitions. However, the athletes must meet certain criteria, including not supporting the war in Ukraine.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, two-time Olympic biathlon champion Dmitry Vasilyev on the eve of the Executive Committee of the IOC called it "a ball of nastiness and hypocrisy.

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