IOC drops objection to Belarus hosting international events

December 12, Pozirk. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) advised international sports federations to continue refraining from holding or supporting international events in Russia, but clarified that this restriction no longer applies to Belarus.
Athletes should not be held accountable for the actions of their governments, the IOC stressed at the Olympic Summit yesterday in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The IOC did not lift existing sanctions against the Russian and Belarusian governments, including the restriction on accreditations or invitations to international sports events or meetings for government officials from Russia and Belarus.
In late November, Viktar Łukašenka, Alaksandar Łukašenka’s son in charge of the Belarusian National Olympic Committee, held talks with Kirsty Coventry, president of the IOC, via video link, lobbying for the full return of Belarusian athletes to international competitions
When the war in Ukraine began in February 2022, the IOC urged sports federations to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from all competitions.
Later, it recommended that some of them could be allowed as neutral athletes under certain conditions, such as not supporting the war.
In December 2023, the IOC allowed neutrals to compete in the 2024 Olympics.
Estonian U-17 women's football team to boycott game with Belarus
- PoliticsUN experts report ongoing systematic human rights violations in BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyCigarette smugglers use black balloons to avoid detection at nightThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBiełstat: several western states boost investments amid overall declineThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyLithuanian customs seize Belarusian's truck for cigarette smugglingThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsOpposition politician urges Kyiv to step up sanctions pressure on ŁukašenkaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyNearly 300 people persecuted for threatening police officers in 2025The material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsInterior ministry designates 33 as extremistsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, Security
- PoliticsCichanoŭskaja discusses upcoming visit to Kyiv with Belarusian volunteer fightersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Society, Sport
- Politics
- EconomyCentral bank head confident inflation targets will be met this yearThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyCentral bank cuts estimated values of standard riskThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyGeorgia rejects 22 asylum requests from Belarusians in 2025The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- Politics, SecurityLatvia prevents entry by 10 undocumented migrantsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Society
- Politics, Society
- PoliticsCouncil of Europe committed to cooperation with Belarus’ democratic forcesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityEU extends sanctions against BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+



