The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made a significant decision regarding the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris.
As per a report by the Associated Press, the IOC announced on Tuesday that athletes from Russia and Belarus will not be permitted to take part in the opening ceremony.
Instead, they can only attend the event as spectators.
Athletes from these countries will be allowed to compete in the Olympics but under a neutral status.
This means that they will not be allowed to display their national flags or emblems, and their national anthems will not be played if they win any medals.
In order to participate in the Paris Games, Russian and Belarusian athletes must undergo a thorough vetting process by the IOC.
This process is designed to ensure that they have not supported the invasion of Ukraine and that they have no affiliations with the military.
The IOC estimates that 36 athletes with Russian passports and 22 athletes with Belarusian passports will qualify for the Olympics.
It's worth noting that Russia was banned from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to doping sanctions. Despite this, 335 athletes competing under the Russian Olympic Committee managed to win 71 medals.
In a separate development, Russia is planning to host the "Friendship Games" for the first time in 40 years this September.
However, the IOC has criticized these plans, calling them a violation of the Olympic charter.
In a statement, the IOC described Russia's actions as a cynical attempt to politicize sport. The statement said, "To make their purely political motivation even more obvious, they are deliberately circumventing the sports organizations in their target countries."