The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) executive board has recommended international sports federations to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to competition under a neutral flag as long as they do not support the ongoing military operation in Ukraine, IOC head Thomas Bach said on Tuesday.  

"1) Athletes with a Russian or a Belarusian passport must compete only as individual neutral athletes. 2) Teams of athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports cannot be considered. 3) Athletes who actively support the war can not compete … 4) Athletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies can not compete," Bach told reporters.

These guidelines state that when taking a decision about allowing an individual from Russia or Belarus to participate in a competition, international federations should consider the athletes' activity on social media and their public statements regarding the situation in Ukrainian, according to the IOC.

"All relevant circumstances, in particular, public statements, including those made on social media; participation in pro-war demonstrations or events; and the displaying of any symbol supporting the war in Ukraine, for example, the 'Z' symbol, have to be taken into consideration," the IOC said in its press release.

At the same time, the IOC’s recommendations "do not concern" the Paris Games that open in 16 months’ time, and Bach said the Committee would decide about the athletes and their support personnel's participation in the 2024 Olympic Games with a Russian or Belarusian passport "at the appropriate time at its full discretion."

"We want to monitor the implementation of these recommendations, let's say, as long as possible in order to be enabled to take an informed decision. Therefore, the executive board today did not consider it appropriate to give a timeline because, in this extremely complex situation, nobody knows what is happening tomorrow, in one week, or in nine months," Bach said.

Days after the war began in February last year, the IOC urged international sports federations to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in international sports events. Most international federations abided by the recommendation, while some have allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral flag.

In January, the IOC said that a pathway for the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics should be "further explored", ignoring calls from Ukraine to ban them.

Several sports governing bodies have defied their doctrines, mixing sports with politics and unlawfully banning and suspending Russia and Belarus from international sporting competitions, as well as depriving the two countries of organizing such events.

Earlier this month, the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) decided to support the participation of Russians and Belarusians in the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games under a neutral flag.  

The African sports governing body said that this decision would go down in history as an effort to tear down the barriers existing between politics and sport.

Read: Debunking the myth of 'de-politicizing' sports