MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. Russia will work towards the full-fledged reinstatement of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the restoration of Russian athletes’ rights in the global sports arena, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
"Our country continues efforts to restore the rights of national athletes and reinstate Russian sports on the international stage," she said at a news briefing. "Some 70 international [sports] federations have already authorized Russian athletes to participate in international tournaments."
"Youth athletes have once again been granted the right to compete internationally under the national flag and to the tune of the country’s anthem," Zakharova noted.
"We look forward to the full restoration of the Russian Olympic Committee’s status [with the IOC] as soon as possible and on our behalf we will support this process in every possible way," she added.
Zakharova also recalled that the 2026 Winter Olympic Games had kicked off in Italy.
"Having overcome all difficulties and imposed restrictions, 13 Russian athletes were granted the right to participate in six [Olympic] disciplines," she continued. "They are competing at the Games under the so-called neutral status, but despite everything, they represent Russia for all of us and we will certainly be closely watching their performances and will be rooting for them."
"The Olympics should always be a celebration of sports, portraying a symbol of unity, striving for excellence, fair play and respect for the values that underpinned the Olympic movement and shaped the Olympic Charter," the Russian diplomat noted.
"We are convinced that sports should remain neutral in the best sense of this word’s meaning, and international sports competitions should be open to all athletes without exception," Zakharova concluded.
On Wednesday, Russian Sports Minister and ROC President Mikhail Degtyarev stated that the IOC Executive Board would probably take a hard look at reinstating the ROC in April or May.
On December 10, 2025 the IOC Executive Board held a meeting but avoided any discussion regarding the reinstatement of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).
The IOC Executive Board held its final meeting of 2025 on December 9-10 at Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland. Degtyarev told TASS ahead of that meeting that he did not expect the reinstatement of the ROC’s status.
IOC’s suspension of Russian Olympic Committee
On October 12, 2023, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until further notice after the Russian organization included the Olympic councils of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions as its members.
In March 2025, Degtyarev announced that the ROC had introduced amendments to the organization’s charter in line with the Olympic Charter. He added that time that the new version of the charter was submitted with the IOC.