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Baltic nations and Poland urge IOC to maintain Russian and Belarussian athletes ban while Ukraine war continues

The Baltic nations and Poland on Thursday called on international sports bodies to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in the Olympics and other events while the war in Ukraine continues.

The International Olympic Committee announced last week that athletes from the two countries, banned from competing in Europe, might be allowed to earn slots for the Paris 2024 Games through Asian qualifying, although the IOC later said it was standing by sanctions imposed against Russia and Belarus.

"Any effort by the International Olympic Committee to bring back Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete, even under a neutral flag, should be rejected," sports ministers representing Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland said in a statement.

"Efforts to return Russian and Belarusian athletes to international sports competitions under the veil of neutrality legitimize political decisions and widespread propaganda of these countries," it added.

They called on "all international sports organizations and federations" to remove Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions until the war ends.

The three Baltic states and Poland, members of the European Union and NATO which border Russia and Belarus, have been strong supporters of Ukraine and among the first to send weapons following Moscow's invasion almost a year ago.

Russia says it is defending its own security and denies accusations of widespread atrocities in Ukraine.

Latvia joined Kyiv on Wednesday in threatening to boycott the 2024 Olympics and qualifiers if Russian and Belarusian athletes are included while the war continues in Ukraine.

Athletes from Russia and its neighbour Belarus, which aided Moscow's invasion of Ukraine a year ago, have been banned from

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