The official referred to a meeting he had with French President Emmanuel Macron, who offered to cooperate in the admission of these athletes under these circumstances, resulting from from the conflict with Ukraine.

I met with Macron, we agreed to cooperate, including on the issue of admitting Russians and Belarusians (to competitions), but only under a neutral status, Bach said at an IOC session.

The international body maintains the veto on these competitors, but leaves it up to each International Federation to decide whether to allow them to take part in its events.

However, they cannot defend their flag or listen to their anthem in case the win, as would be the case in Paris 2024.

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