The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it is against the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions because of the war in Ukraine.

It announced this was part of a joint statement by sister ministries in Poland, Britain, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

“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.”

The ministry added that there is no single reason to move away from the exclusion regime for Russian and Belarusian athletes set by the IOC more than a year ago.

The exclusion began immediately after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from most major sports events since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is now looking into the possibility of their return as neutral athletes, including for next year’s Paris Olympics.

IOC president Thomas Bach has said that no one should be discriminated against over their passport or country of birth.

Ukraine has threatened a Paris boycott, and sports politicians from more than 30 countries oppose a return of the athletes from the two countries.

“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 ministries said.

(dpa/NAN)