The International Paralympic Committee on Saturday decided to lift the partial suspension of Russia and Belarus, imposed after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the organization's website reported on Saturday, writes UNN.
Details
Member organizations voted at the IPC General Assembly in Seoul on Saturday not to maintain the partial suspension of the National Paralympic Committees of Russia and Belarus.
The vote of IPC members (national Paralympic committees, international federations, and organizations for persons with disabilities) initially included a proposal to fully suspend Russia. 111 voted "for" and 55 "against." Another 11 abstained. Thus, the vote did not receive the necessary half of the votes. Also, the IPC member countries did not support the decision to extend the partial suspension of the Russian Paralympic Committee.
The vote for the full and partial suspension of Belarus's membership also failed to receive more than half of the required votes.
The decision means that the NPC of Russia and Belarus now regain "full rights and privileges of membership in the International Paralympic Committee, in accordance with the IPC Constitution."
Context
The membership of the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees was suspended in November 2022 amid "violations of constitutional membership obligations." In February 2022, Russia, with the support of Belarus, launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine before the start of the Beijing Paralympics, failing to observe the Olympic Truce.
The IPC has not yet explained whether the reinstatement of Russia and Belarus will mean that athletes from the two countries will be able to compete with national symbols. The decision was made ahead of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, which begin on March 6 in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.
The decision on which countries will compete in the six winter Olympic sports, as AFP notes, is regulated by international sports federations, which have so far maintained a ban on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes.
To be eligible, each athlete must have a valid license for the 2025/26 season from their international federations for alpine skiing (Paralympic events), cross-country skiing (Paralympic events), snowboarding (Paralympic biathlon), ice hockey (Para ice hockey), and wheelchair curling (wheelchair curling).
Addition
The IPC's latest decision came eight days after the International Olympic Committee allowed the presence of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, provided they compete under a neutral flag and meet the conditions of neutrality.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously spoke with the President of the International Olympic Committee, Kirsty Coventry. The head of the Ukrainian state expects the IOC to maintain the principled position it held during the Paris Olympics regarding aggressive Russia.