The International Olympic Committee has lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee ahead of the 2028 games in Los Angeles, officials said Tuesday.
The move ends a three-year program in which athletes from that nation were vetted for neutral status, and potentially clears the way for a full contingent of Russian athletes and teams to compete in the Los Angeles games.
The suspension had been in place since October 2023 due to Russia’s incorporation of Olympic councils in occupied parts of Ukraine, which IOC officials said violated their charter.
On Tuesday, however, the IOC said those restrictions “are no longer applicable.”
“The decision was taken following a thorough analysis by the IOC’s Legal Affairs Commission, considering that the ROC no longer includes as its members any regional sports organizations in territories falling under the jurisdiction of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine. In addition, the ROC confirmed that it does not, and will not, conduct any activities in these territories. The IOC EB will continue to closely monitor the situation relating to any ROC activities in those territories, and reserves the right to take any further measures if deemed necessary,” according to an IOC statement.
The committee statement further said the IOC will “not organize IOC events in Russia or invite Russian government or state officials to its events.”
The IOC has yet to rule on letting Russian athletes compete with their flag and anthem at the 2028 games.
Tuesday’s announcement follows a May decision by the IOC to end a ban on athletes from Belarus competing under their full national identity. Belarus has supported Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.
The rules targeting those counties resulted in a significant decrease in the number of Russian and Belarusian competitors at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with just 32 athletes taking part from both nations combined, under neutral status.
“Our country’s return to the Olympic family is a green light for international federations to reinstate all our athletes,” Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev said Tuesday.