Paris Says IOC Will Decide On Visas For Russian Athletes To Partake In 2024 Olympics

The final decision on whether to grant visas to Russian athletes to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will be taken by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said on Saturday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th February, 2023) The final decision on whether to grant visas to Russian athletes to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will be taken by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said on Saturday.

"We understand that this issue is sensitive. But the decision (on whether to grant visas to Russian athletes) is taken not by the host country. It is the IOC that will decide, and we will see what its decision will ultimately be," Legendre told the RTVI broadcaster.

The spokeswoman added that France also shares "concerns of our Ukrainian friends" regarding possible participation of Russian athletes in the Olympics.

The IOC's executive committee announced last week that it might allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in Paris under a neutral flag. Ukraine condemned the committee's position and threatened to boycott the games.

On February 28, 2022, the IOC issued a recommendation to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from international competitions or only allow them to compete in neutral status in response to the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.