The IOC replied to Putin: The measures are a reaction to the violation of the Olympic Charter committed by the Russian and Belarusian governments

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims about "ethnic discrimination" of athletes who were excluded from international competitions.

This year, the IOC advised sports bodies to thoroughly check Russian athletes when returning to competitions as neutrals without state symbols and national anthems ahead of the Paris Olympics, while Russians are still banned from competing in team sports.

Neutral status can be granted to athletes who did not support the war and who do not have contracts with the military or state security agencies, although there have been inconsistencies in the application of the rules in dozens of different sports.

"We firmly reject the accusations that these measures are 'ethnic discrimination'," the IOC announced, a day after Putin's speech.

"These measures are a reaction to the violation of the Olympic Charter committed by the Russian and Belarusian governments," the IOC said, referring to Russia's attack on Ukraine in February 2022, four days after the end of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The United Nations-backed Olympic truce was still in effect.

Yesterday, Putin accused the IOC of ethnic discrimination, since due to the war in Ukraine, Russian athletes can only participate in the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 in a limited number and under a neutral flag.

Last year, the IOC called for the expulsion of Russia and Belarus from international competition, but has now softened that position to avoid discrimination based on an individual's passport ahead of the start of qualification for the Paris Games.

In today's statement, the IOC stated that strict conditions have been defined for the evaluation of "individual neutral athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports in accordance with the charter".

The Charter also states that each National Olympic Committee is obliged to participate in the Games by sending its own athletes.

The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee until further notice this month after the Russian body recognized the regional committees of four Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia - Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporozhye - but can still invite athletes directly through their sport's governing body.

IOC President Thomas Bach has repeatedly said he is authorized to make a decision that could exclude all Russians from competing in Paris ahead of the July 26 opening ceremony.