MOSCOW, June 9, Sergey Fuks. Head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Stanislav Pozdnyakov believes that International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach is trying to defend Olympic values, but a step forward from the international organization would be a recommendation to lift sanctions against Russian sports. On Tuesday, Bach, at the general assembly of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations in Lausanne, called on international federations to avoid the influence of governments of states on the decision to admit athletes from certain countries to international competitions.
"I see Bach's attempts to defend the values u200bu200bfounded in the Olympic Charter. But a step forward would be the recommendation of the IOC to lift the sanctions imposed at the end of February,» Pozdnyakov told reporters.
At the end of February, the IOC recommended that international sports federations not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in competitions due to the situation in Ukraine. A number of international federations excluded Russians and Belarusians from competitions under their auspices, and also canceled competitions in Russia. Other federations allowed athletes from the two countries to compete in neutral status.