(Paris) IOC President Thomas Bach, received by Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée on Thursday, reaffirmed on Friday his desire to reintegrate Russians and Belarusians into world sport, under a neutral banner, on the sidelines of a meeting in the capital with refugee athletes.

Shortly after its meeting with the President of the Republic on Thursday, the IOC thanked Emmanuel Macron for his position taken during the last G7 in Hiroshima, Japan, “concerning the autonomy of sport and the conditions of participation of athletes equipped with a Russian or Belarusian passport, a declaration which is in line with the recommendations of the IOC”.

According to the IOC press release, the two men also mentioned the Paris Olympics in 2024, and reaffirmed that the question of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in these Olympics would be “taken in due course by the IOC”.

The next day, the IOC President, on the sidelines of a meeting with refugee athletes, once again detailed the conditions allowing the return of these athletes excluded from international competitions since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“No team and no delegations. They are lonely and neutral athletes who can be integrated […]. No Russian flag, no Russian anthem, no colors, no identification or anything,” said Thomas Bach.

“More and more international federations are now applying these conditions and this formula. So in the end, I am extremely sure that the spirit of sport and this unique fighting spirit will prevail,” added the IOC President.

Since the IOC’s decision in March to advocate the return of Russians and Belarusians, the debate over the reinstatement of these athletes has remained heated. Fourteen months before the Paris Olympics, all the international federations are not on the same line.