(CNN) International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has defended plans to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete internationally.
“First of all, perhaps the most important thing that has changed is that the participation of athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports in competitions and in international competitions works,” Bach said on Tuesday at the start of the three-day IOC Executive Council meeting to express solidarity with the Ukraine to discuss sanctions against Russia and Belarus and the status of athletes from these countries.
“We see that almost every day across a range of sports. We see it most clearly in tennis, but we also see it in cycling.
“We see it in some table tennis competitions, we see it in ice hockey, we see it in handball, we see it in soccer and other leagues – in the United States, but also in Europe, and we see it in other continents as well.”
He added: “In fact, the governments on whose territory the competitions are held issue visas [to Russians and Belarusian athletes] with very few exceptions. In other countries, they even issue work permits where it is necessary for these players and athletes.”
Bach’s comments come after more than 300 current and former fencers wrote to the IOC urging the organization to maintain sanctions against Russian and Belarusian athletes, saying it would be “a catastrophic mistake” to allow them to compete internationally make possible.
“Russia’s aggression violates not only the norms of international law, but also the fundamental values of Olympism, including peace, harmonious development of humanity and respect for human dignity and human rights,” the letter said.
“As long as Russia’s war of aggression with the support of Belarus continues, the athletes and officials of both countries must remain excluded from world sports. Given the recent escalation of attacks on Ukrainian civilians, there should be no reason right now to allow Russia and reintegrate Belarus into world sport.
“Integration would set a precedent where a nation can go against the values and rules of sport and international peace without fear of repercussions,” the letter adds.
The letter – addressed to IOC President Bach, who is a former Olympic fencer, and Emmanuel Katsiadakis, interim president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) – was sent on the day the IOC Executive Board held its three-day meetings to show solidarity with of Ukraine to discuss the sanctions against Russia and Belarus and the status of athletes from these countries.
CNN has reached out to the IOC and FIE for comment.
Paris will host the 2024 Summer Games.
In January, the IOC outlined a multi-stage plan for Russian and Belarusian athletes to attend the upcoming Paris 2024 Summer Games and Milan 2026 Winter Games, drawing criticism from the United States, Canada and several European countries. including UK, Germany and Poland.
In a February statement, the IOC reiterated its condemnation of the war in Ukraine, a year after the invasion began.
But the fencers accuse the IOC and FIE of allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete again, despite the IOC’s sanctions in February 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine.
“In complete disregard for the voices of the athletes, you have enabled both Russia and Belarus to return to FIE competitions, as well as an alleged tournament on Russian soil,” the letter reads.
“This is a blatant violation of the IOC’s position that ‘no international sporting events may be organized or supported by an IF or NOC in Russia or Belarus’ and again highlights Russian interests which protect the voice and rights of athletes, especially those from Ukraine, predominate,” say the fencers.
It is unclear which tournament is referred to in the letter. CNN has asked the IOC and the FIE for clarification.
Last month, the US and more than 30 other “like-minded” countries backed a proposed ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in international sports, according to a joint statement.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s sport minister said in January the country would not rule out a boycott of the Olympics if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete in Paris 2024.
Last week, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes will continue to be banned from World Athletics Series events “for the foreseeable future,” reaffirming the organization’s March 2022 decision.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights cataloged thousands of civilian casualties in the Ukraine conflict in the six months ended January, along with cases of torture, rape and arbitrary detention.
In its latest report, published on Friday, OHCHR said that “the human rights situation across the country remains dire amid the Russian Federation’s ongoing armed assault on Ukraine.” She confirmed numerous allegations of arbitrary killing, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment, and conflict-related sexual violence.