Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be able to take part in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, said Craig Reedy, Vice President of the International Olympic Committee.

“Most of the Russian and Belarusian athletes and teams are now facing a problem - they cannot participate in those competitions where qualification places for the 2024 Games are offered,” Reedy said in an interview with The Guardian.

Previously, most international committees banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in international competitions due to Russia's war against Ukraine. “Therefore, it is unlikely that anyone will be able to qualify, except in those three sports that are not banned <we are talking about cycling, judo and tennis - The Insider> . But will they be able to qualify for them? I'm not sure," Ready said.

The IOC recommended that international sports federations remove Russian and Belarusian athletes from participation in international competitions in February, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In early July, the Russian Olympic Committee issued an official statement regarding the IOC's recent steps, in particular, it said: "For more than four months, the ROC, despite unprecedented pressure on the Russian sports community and improper sanctions against Russian athletes, continues to prove its commitment to the letter and the spirit of the Olympic Charter, to uphold the true Olympic values.”

Despite words about the ROC's "commitment to the letter and spirit of the Olympic Charter," during the entire war, none of its officials tried to condemn the Kremlin's aggression. Moreover, the war itself is a flagrant violation of the Olympic principles.

In ancient times, all wars were suspended for the duration of the Olympic Games; it was called ekecheiria or Olympic truce. In 1992, the IOC, seeking to revive this tradition, appealed to the states of the world with an appeal for a truce. As a result, in October 1993, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding that a truce be observed, starting 7 days before the opening of the games and ending 7 days after they close. Later, the end of the truce began to be considered 7 days after the end of the Paralympic Games, which take place after the Olympic Games at the same sports venues.

In December 2021, the UN General Assembly approved the dates for the next Olympic Truce: from January 28 to March 20, 2022. It was during this period that Russia's invasion of Ukraine began.