IOC chief Bach politicizes Olympic Movement — Russia’s Zakharova

MOSCOW, October 30. /TASS/. President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach has politicized the Olympic Movement, violating all existing legal norms, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
“The bias of Bach, who has politicized the Olympic Movement in violation of all international legal norms, needs to be addressed,” Zakharova said.
Bach said speaking earlier in the day at the 2024 General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in Portugal that the IOC had suspended the membership of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) because no other party involved in the 55 conflicts around the world has violated the Olympic Charter in the same manner as Russia.
Zakharova reminded the IOC president that with its special military operation, Russia “came to the rescue of peaceful citizens following the unconstitutional coup in Ukraine.”
Bach explained that the ROC’s suspension was unavoidable due to its involvement in activities within Ukraine, which constituted a breach of the Olympic Charter. However, the IOC chief emphasized that the governing body has never punished athletes for actions taken on behalf of their governments or national Olympic committees.
On October 12, 2023, the IOC suspended the ROC until further notice after the Russian organization included the Olympic councils of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, as its members.
As a result of the suspension, the ROC is prohibited from acting as a national Olympic committee or receiving funding from the Olympic movement. Nonetheless, the IOC retained the right to allow Russian athletes to compete as neutrals at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Later, Bach stated that Russian athletes must have no affiliation with the ROC if they wish to participate in the Olympics.
The 2024 Summer Olympic Games were hosted by the French capital of Paris between July 26 and August 11. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed a team of 15 Russian athletes to participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics as neutrals.