Facts

• Poland's sport and tourism minister Kamil Bortniczuk stated on Thursday that a coalition of up to 40 countries — including Britain, Canada, and the US — could potentially boycott the Paris 2024 Olympic Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete.^[1]
• Warsaw has joined the Baltic nations in a statement calling for the rejection of any effort by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to return such athletes, even under a neutral flag, claiming that it would legitimize the propaganda and politics of those countries.^[2]
• Latvia — one of the Baltic states — on Wednesday became the first nation other than Ukraine to threaten to boycott next year's Olympic Games. The nation also threatened to boycott Olympic qualifying tournaments, rather than compete against Russia and Belarus.^[3]
• Ukraine's sports minister Vadym Guttsait warned last week that his country would refuse to participate in the Olympics if athletes from the two countries are included in the international competitions, adding that talks over a possible boycott had already begun.^[4]
• The IOC stated on Thursday that "the participation of individual, neutral athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports" is yet to be discussed, and noted that a boycott would violate the Olympic charter and serve only to punish the athletes of the boycotting nations.^[5]
• Sanctions imposed last year on Belarus and Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine — including a ban on the formal appearance of either country at the Olympics — will reportedly remain in place. However, IOC officials have argued that banning athletes based solely on their nationality could constitute discrimination.^[6]