This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
European lawmakers have urged the International Olympic Committee to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Paris Games rather than keep seeking ways to let them compete as neutrals in international sport. On April 25, the 46-nation Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) held a two-hour session of its panel for sports issues in Strasbourg, France. It was to help draft a future report on the question of barring the two countries’ athletes and officials from the Olympic movement because of the military invasion of Ukraine.
