Ceasefire or peace plan may influence return of Russia, says IOC's Bach

The Manila Times

Ceasefire or peace plan may influence return of Russia, says IOC's Bach  Outgoing IOC President Thomas Bach indicates on March 7, 2025 that a ceasefire or a peace agreement could influence Russia's return from the ongoing ban on competing as a team because of the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. Only a handful of athletes took part in this year's Paris Games as 'neutrals,' subject to vetting by the IOC to ensure they had not supported the invasion or maintained links with the military. Russian officials denounced as discriminatory the ban, which also applied to athletes from Belarus, a close ally of Moscow which allowed the Kremlin to use its territory in the invasion.  REUTERS VIDEO  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe  Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net  Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion   Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital   Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcher  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein  Soundcloud: https://tmt.ph/soundcloud   #TheManilaTimes #tmtnews #olympics #russia

Transcript

00:00You know, this decision is not depending on the war, the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee.

00:08If we would make this depending on the war, we would have to suspend maybe 50 or even 100

00:17National Olympic Committees more in the world. We are not, we are a politically neutral

00:26organization. So there, the first condition for Russia to participate is to follow the rules.

00:41And there the ball is in their court. And there, if you want already to,

00:51yeah, for once I allow myself to speculate a little bit, but don't take it as a precedence.

01:04There, you know, a ceasefire could have an influence if in these

01:16discussions, in these results, the status of these Ukrainian regions

01:33would be defined somehow in agreement with everybody. Then, of course, the IOC,

01:45I cannot speak for the IOC anymore until then, I don't know. But it was always our policy,

01:53and I hope it will be that we will not take political sides and not take political

02:01sanctions that some have done, even in the Olympic movement. But that then, you know,

02:10we would accept, of course, kind of international law. The territories is not up to us to decide.

02:24This is then for governments and states. And if in this way, a ceasefire or what we all hope for,

02:34even better, a peace agreement would address the status of this region, then, of course,

02:45the IOC will fully accept this and take the consequences.

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