International Paralympic Committee determined the conditions to restore Russia's membership
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has requested that the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) halt legal proceedings regarding the defense of the rights of Russian athletes in order to restore the membership of the RPC. The chairman of the Executive Committee of the Russian Paralympic Committee, Pavel Rozhkov, stated this at the meeting of the Federation Council on social policy, Interfax reported.
“We have sent a second request to the International Paralympic Committee on criteria for restoration. In response to the request, they sent some unclear demands: ‘Provide us with copies of the speech by the minister of sports and the president of the Russian Paralympic Committee, Vladimir Lukin, showing that they agree with the position of the International Paralympic Committee, and suspend judicial practice. If you fail to suspend judicial practice, we will not send you these criteria today,’” Pavel Rozhkov said.
The International Paralympic Committee suspended RPC’s membership in early August. This decision meant the automatic suspension of the Russian Paralympic team from participating in the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The International Paralympic Committee took the decision to suspend the Russian team from the Paralympics after the publication of WADA’s report stating that 35 Russian Paralympic athletes were using banned substances.
In late August, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, stated that the decision of the international sports organization is beyond law, morality and humanity. Putin also suggested that it was a political decision. The Russian president announced that there would be separate competitions for Russian Paralympic athletes. The competitions took place in early September in the Moscow region.