The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has reacted to accusations from Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin, who called the suspension of Russians from the competition "ethnic discrimination," quite sharply. The organization explained this step as a response to the aggression of Russia and Belarus.

This is said in a statement by the IOC reported by the AFP news agency, Barron's portal reports. Putin was reminded that the Russian and Belarusian governments violated the Olympic Charter by launching a criminal war against Ukraine and its people.

"We strongly reject the accusations that these measures imply 'ethnic discrimination'. The strict conditions that the IOC has set out in its recommendations to international federations for the participation of individual neutral athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports in international competitions are in line with the Olympic Charter. They are a response to the violation of the Olympic Charter by the governments of Russia and Belarus," the IOC emphasized.

Earlier, the IOC temporarily suspended the membership of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), which illegally included Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson councils in its membership.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, ROC president Stanislav Pozdnyakov "revealed" information about the "state of health" of Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin.

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