International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach says accusations that allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes back into the Games would promote the invasion of Ukraine are "defamatory" and called on Ukraine to quit its threat of a boycott of Paris 2024.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stepped up his campaign to gather international support to boycott the Paris 2024 Olympic Games unless Russian and Belarusian athletes are banned from competing as "neutral athletes".
He has previously described any neutral flag as "stained with blood", while a presidential aide described the IOC as, "a promoter of war, murder and destruction".
In a lengthy four-page letter sent to Ukraine's National Olympic Committee (NOC) president, Vadym Guttsait, and seen by The Ticket, IOC president Bach began by reiterating "the unanimous support of the Olympic movement for the Ukrainian athletes" and "unwavering commitment to solidarity with the Ukrainian Olympic community".
He said a boycott would go against Olympic principles and would only harm the athletes of Ukraine since, "previous boycotts did not achieve their political ends".
The letter warns against Ukraine's attempts to gather support for a boycott before setting out the reasons why the IOC has seemingly backflipped on its call in March 2022 for international sports to ban all Russian and Belarusian athletes, referees and sports officials from international competition following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, conducted with the support of Belarus.
"As you know, the participation of neutral athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 has not even been discussed in concrete terms yet," Bach writes.
"Therefore, your letter at this premature stage to your fellow NOCs, to the International Federations, IOC Members and to future Olympic hosts, pressuring them in an attempt to publicly influence their decision making, has been perceived by the vast majority of them as, at the very least, extremely regrettable.
"It is the responsibility of every NOC and of any member of an NOC to uphold the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter.
"A boycott is a violation of the Olympic Charter, which obliges all NOCs to 'participate in the Games of the Olympiad by sending athletes'."
Two United Nations special rapporteurs in the fields of cultural rights, and racism and discrimination wrote to the IOC last year supporting the IOC's ban on Russian and Belarusian symbols and emblems – such as flags and anthems, but raised concerns over the discrimination of any individual based on nationality.
"We understand the desire to support Ukrainian athletes and the Ukrainian Olympic community, who suffer terribly from the war, together with all other Ukrainians, but the Olympic Committee and more widely the Olympic community have also the compelling obligation to abide by the Olympic Charter, and more widely international human rights norms prohibiting discrimination," Alexandra Xanthaki and Ashwini KP wrote to the IOC.
"The same rules must apply to all athletes, whatever their nationality. This includes the rule that any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited."
The IOC has since revised its outright ban on athletes from Russia and Belarus and is investigating ways they can compete under a neutral flag — such as the Olympic flag, as athletes from Yugoslavia did in Barcelona 1992.
Bach also pointed to the example of the recent Australian Open tennis tournament where players from Russia and Belarus competed as neutrals, with the women's singles won by Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.
Bach said there was widespread support internationally for the unifying force of the Olympic Games, pointing to a recently passed resolution at the UN General Assembly.
"This resolution recognises that 'major international sports events should be organised in the spirit of peace, mutual understanding and international cooperation, friendship and tolerance, and without discrimination of any kind, and that unifying and conciliative nature of such events should be respected'," he says in his letter.
"The resolution specifically is 'acknowledging the Olympic Charter, and that any form of discrimination is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic movement'. This resolution was passed by consensus by all UN Member States, including the Government of Ukraine."
Bach closes with this:
"Since you chose to send your correspondence to all NOCs, IFs and beyond, you will understand that we will also be copying stakeholders of the Olympic Movement on this letter, so that they have the full picture," the letter reads.
"In the Olympic spirit of peace and solidarity, which was so evident in all our consultation calls, let us work together for the sake of the Ukrainian athletes."
