The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has accused Russia of a "cynical attempt to politicise sport" through planned Friendship Games and called on all of its stakeholders not to participate in and support it.
Russia has been mainly isolated in international sports since the start of its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, although the IOC is allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at this year's Paris Olympics, as neutrals and under strict eligibility criteria.
The IOC executive board was to decide on Tuesday whether Russia and Belarus will be allowed to participate at the Paris opening and closing ceremonies.
As the EB met in Lausanne the IOC published a strong-worded statement in full opposition to the Friendship Games which it said are to be held as summer edition, in September after the Paris Olympics, in Moscow and Ekaterinenburg, and as a winter edition 2026 in Sochi.
"The IOC notes that, contrary to the Fundamental Principles of the Olympic Charter and the resolutions by the UN General Assembly, the Russian government intends to organise purely politically motivated sports events in Russia," an IOC declaration said.
It said Russia's government had launched "a very intensive diplomatic offensive" to lure participants, and "to make their purely political motivation even more obvious, they are deliberately circumventing the sports organisations in their target countries.
"This is a blatant violation of the Olympic Charter and an infringement of the various UN resolutions at the same time," the IOC said.
"It is a cynical attempt by the Russian Federation to politicise sport."
Clips in Russia say that athletes from all parts of the world are to gather and compete for substantial prize money at the Friendship Games which are seen by critics as an attempt to undermine the sporting sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine.
The Friendship Games were first held in the Soviet Union and other eastern bloc countries in 1984, and mainly included countries that had boycotted that year's Olympics in Los Angeles.
Russia is also set to play a football friendly this week against Serbia while club and national teams remain suspended from international events. Russia has played matches against the likes of Iraq, Iran, Cuba and Cameroon as well since the start of the invasion.
In June, Russia is also to host the BRICS Games in Kazan, bringing together athletes from the organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
Looking at the Friendship Games, the IOC said on Tuesday's statement that its Athletes’ Commission "clearly opposes using athletes for political propaganda.
"The Commission even sees the risk of athletes being forced by their governments into participating in such a fully politicised sports event, thereby being exploited as part of a political propaganda campaign.
"The Russian government also shows total disrespect for the global anti-doping standards and the integrity of competitions. This is the very same government which was implicated in the systemic doping programme at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 and, later, the manipulation of anti-doping data."
The IOC spoke of a "disrespect for the athletes and for the integrity of sports competitions," and concluded: "The Olympic Movement strongly condemns any initiative to fully politicise sport, in particular the establishment of fully politicised sports events by the Russian government.
"The IOC strongly urges all stakeholders of the Olympic Movement and all governments to reject any participation in, and support of, any initiative that intends to fully politicise international sport."
