GENEVA (AP) \u2014 Russia moved closer Tuesday toward having a full team with its national flag and anthem at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.<\/p>\n
The International Olympic Committee provisionally lifted a suspension<\/a> of the Russian Olympic Committee and advised Olympic sports bodies<\/a> to end a three-year program where Russian athletes had to be vetted for permission to compete as neutrals.<\/p>\n The IOC said the timing was because qualifying events are starting for the L.A. games, and \u201cthe need to offer equal access to these competitions to all athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n The move, which also signals a return for Russia in team sports, was expected since the IOC advised two months ago that athletes from Belarus, which was Russia\u2019s ally when its military invasion of Ukraine<\/a> started in 2022, should be allowed again<\/a> to compete with their full national identity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want to hold athletes accountable for the actions of their governments,\u201d IOC president Kirsty Coventry said at an online news conference after she chaired an executive board meeting.<\/p>\n A two-time Olympic gold medalist swimming for Zimbabwe, Coventry said it was a fair decision and noted: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be sitting here if I had to pay the price when my country was going through things and being sanctioned.\u201d<\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s sports minister Matvii Bidnyi questioned why the IOC altered its rules when in the war \u201cnothing changed. The situation became even worse.\u201d<\/p>\n Russia unleashed waves of missiles and drones<\/a> at Ukraine early Monday, killing at least 22 people.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we don\u2019t understand it,\u201d Bidnyi told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday. \u201cIn this day, when all of Ukraine (is) in a day of mourning, when our flags was a little bit lower because of so many people, peaceful, our peaceful citizens was killed yesterday at night.\u201d <\/p>\n The IOC also reiterated its \u201csolidarity with the Olympic community of Ukraine\u201d and ongoing financial support.<\/p>\n Barriers remain<\/p>\n The IOC\u2019s guidance to reintegrate Russians in international events is not binding for the governing bodies of individual sports.<\/p>\n \u201cOur country\u2019s return to the Olympic family is a green light for international federations to restore the rights of our athletes,\u201d Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov said Tuesday.<\/p>\n Track and field is not following suit.<\/p>\n Asked about the IOC\u2019s decision, World Athletics referred the AP to its decision last week maintaining a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes in its international events.<\/p>\n In soccer, FIFA and European body UEFA have continued to exclude Russia<\/a> in competitions like the World Cup and Champions League, avoiding likely chaos because teams from other countries would refused to play those games. <\/p>\n Russian athletes and teams likely will face issues getting entry visas from some countries hosting sports events.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s return<\/p>\n Among top-tier Olympic sports, swimming\u2019s governing body World Aquatics lifted its restrictions<\/a> on Russian athletes in April.<\/p>\n The ROC was suspended in 2023 when the Russian Olympic body incorporated regional sports councils from occupied regions of eastern Ukraine. But the IOC said \u201cthe ROC confirmed that it does not, and will not, conduct any activities in these territories.\u201d <\/p>\n Ukrainian minister Bidnyi said this promise was \u201cjust fake and empty words.\u201d <\/p>\n Just 32 athletes from Russia and Belarus competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics as approved neutrals, and combined to win five medals, with just one gold. <\/p>\n The Russian team in Los Angeles could now be closer to the more than 300 athletes sent to the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, that returned with 71 medals including 20 titles.<\/p>\n Athletes still monitored<\/p>\n To be approved for neutral status, Russian athletes had to show no links to state military and security agencies. They also should not have publicly supported the war in Ukraine .<\/a><\/p>\n The IOC will continue to monitor social media posts by Russian athletes, Coventry confirmed, citing the \u201crole models\u201d requirement in the Olympic Charter. <\/p>\n \u201cThat is strong enough leverage that we would need at any time in order to decide who would be willing and deserving to come to any Olympic Games,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n IOC official James Macleod said the Olympic body gets referrals from Ukraine about problematic social media posts by Russian athletes: \u201cThose are always taken into consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n Flag, anthem to return in October?<\/p>\n The IOC did not yet approve letting Russian athletes and teams compete with their flag and anthem. That decision will come \u201cat an appropriate time,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n The next Olympic competition is the 2026 Youth Summer Games in Dakar, Senegal opening Oct. 31.<\/p>\n The IOC said to \u201caddress the lack of confidence in the global sporting community relating to the return of Russian athletes to international competition,\u201d those athletes must give multiple doping controls and be part of a recognized testing program.<\/p>\n The IOC said it will continue to \u201cnot organize IOC events in Russia or invite Russian government or state officials to its events.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth in D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany, and AP writer Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv contributed to this report.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n