Putin casts shadow over Russian participation at 2024 Olympics

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (Dec 14) he supported Russians competing at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics but that the country should ponder whether it should compete if the event is designed to portray Russian sport as "dying".

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (Dec 14) he supported Russians competing at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics but that the country should ponder whether it should compete if the event is designed to portray Russian sport as "dying".

The International Olympic Committee last week said Russians and Belarusians who qualify in their sport for the Paris Games can take part as neutrals without flags, emblems or anthems.

Russians and Belarusians had initially been banned from competing internationally following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, for which Belarus has been used as a staging ground.

Speaking at his annual year-end press conference, Putin said that while he was in favour of Russians competing at the Games, a further assessment was needed of what the neutral status would mean for the country's athletes.

"They have been training for years... and that's why I supported our athletes going to such competitions, but we still need to carefully analyse the conditions the IOC has put forward," Putin said.