Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania call on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the Olympic Games under a neutral flag, stressing that Russia and Belarus can return their athletes to the international sports community by ending the war against Ukraine.

"As we are approaching the next meeting of the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee on March 28-30, 2023, we wish to reiterate Ukraine's position on the IOC recent calls to explore the pathways for participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in competitions as 'neutral athletes," according to a joint statement published on the website of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

The authors of the statement expressed regret that the IOC used these concerns as a pretext to reverse radically its previous well-argued stance on the recommendation not to invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions.

"We wish to stress that it is not athletes’ nationality that determines their role, but the fact that they are sponsored/supported by their governments or businesses backing up the Kremlin regime, which continues its war of aggression against Ukraine, or even they are affiliated with the Russian military directly," the Foreign Ministry said.

It also emphasizes that there is no reason to depart from the exclusion regime for Russian and Belarusian athletes, established by the IOC more than a year ago immediately after the start of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"We strongly believe that now is not the time to consider the opening up of a pathway for Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to the Olympic Games in any status. While the IOC has made no final decisions yet, we strongly urge it to reconsider its plans and return to the original well-proven stance supported by the international community," the Foreign Ministry said.

According to the statement Russia and Belarus have at their disposal a way forward for their athletes to return to the international sports community, namely ending the war of aggression launched by Russia with complicity of Belarus and restoring respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders.