The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has defended its decision to provisionally reinstate the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), after several EU states threatened to push Brussels to cut funding for sports bodies that readmitted Russian and Belarusian athletes, Reuters reported.

The IOC last week lifted its nearly three-year suspension of the ROC, imposed in 2023 after the committee incorporated sports organizations from four former Ukrainian regions that had voted to join Russia.

According to Reuters, nine EU member states have written to European Sports Commissioner Glenn Micallef urging the EU to stop funding the IOC, World Aquatics, the International Fencing Federation and other sports bodies that have readmitted Russian and Belarusian athletes. The signatories are Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and Sweden.

An IOC spokesperson defended the decision, telling Reuters the suspension was lifted after the ROC removed regional sports organizations from “territories falling under the jurisdiction of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine” and confirmed it would no longer operate there.

“The IOC has to navigate the complex realities and consequences of the current geopolitical context,” the spokesperson said.

The committee also reiterated that it will not stage its own events in Russia or invite Russian government officials, adding that any decision on the Russian flag, anthem and other national symbols at future Olympics will be made “at the appropriate time.” It noted that competitions outside the Olympic Games are governed by the relevant international federations.

Russian and Belarusian athletes were barred from most international competitions after the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022, although several federations have since eased the restrictions.

Moscow has repeatedly accused Western countries of politicizing sport and pressuring international federations to exclude Russian athletes, insisting competitors should be judged solely on sporting merit. It has described the IOC’s 2023 suspension of the ROC as politically motivated and contrary to Olympic principles.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova welcomed last week’s decision, saying: “Common sense has prevailed!”