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SAMARA, November 5. /TASS/. The difference between Russian and Western sports diplomacy is that Russia always seeks to ensure equal rights for all athletes, Russian Sports Minister and President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Mikhail Degtyarev said on Wednesday. "Our goal is to exert pressure on international institutions to ensure equal rights, so that all athletes take part in competitions and have the opportunity to glorify their countries," Degtyarev said at the ‘Russia: Country of Sports’ international sports forum. "The difference is that the collective countries of the West exert pressure on international organizations in order to bar someone and create unfair competition," he continued. "We [Russia] must exert pressure on international organizations to ensure equal competition," Degtyarev added. The 13th Russia: Country of Sports annual international sports forum is taking place in Russia’s Volga River city of Samara on November 5-7. The annual forum was established in 2009 in accordance with a decree from the Russian president in order to develop physical culture and sport, international sports cooperation and promote a healthy lifestyle. TASS is the official information partner of the forum. IOC sanctions against Russia, Belarus On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to prohibit athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason. Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments. In late March, 2023, the IOC recommended allowing individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international sports tournaments, but only under specific conditions. Specifically, athletes from the two countries should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status. Russia and Belarus were also banned from participating in international team events. On October 12, 2023, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until further notice after the Russian organization included the Olympic councils of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions as its members.
