By News18,Vivek Ganapathy

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The International Paralympic Committee lifted the partial suspension of Russia and Belarus that was imposed following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, on Saturday.
This decision, taken at the IPC’s general assembly meeting in Seoul, allows Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics next year.
However, the final decision on which nations compete in the six sports on the winter programme is determined by the international sports federations, which have so far maintained a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes.
“This decision means NPC Belarus and NPC Russia now regain their full rights and privileges of IPC membership,” the IPC stated.
The IPC added that it will work with the two members to put practical arrangements in place as soon as reasonably possible.
The Russian Paralympic Committee welcomed the move, calling it “a fair decision” and “an example of how athletes’ rights should be protected without discrimination on national or political grounds.”
To be eligible, each athlete must have an active licence for the 2025/26 season from their international federations for para Alpine skiing, para cross-country skiing, para snowboarding, para biathlon, para ice hockey, and wheelchair curling.
The partial suspension was adopted by the IPC General Assembly in 2023.
However, some Russian and Belarusian athletes were permitted to compete at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris under a neutral flag and strict neutrality conditions.
The IPC had excluded the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
The IPC’s latest decision comes eight days after the International Olympic Committee authorised the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, provided they compete under a neutral flag and meet neutrality conditions.
(With Inputs From AFP)