The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday lifted its suspension of Russia related to its invasion of Ukraine, clearing the way for Russia to send a team to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The Olympic Committee said its decision applied “provisionally,” subject to Russian conduct in the future, and that it had not yet decided whether it would allow the Russian flag or anthem at the games. Still, it was a significant step for bringing Russian athletes, who have struggled with their country’s pariah status on the world stage, back into the international fold after several years.
Debate over lifting the suspension centered on the Russian Olympic Committee’s claims that parts of Ukraine were under its jurisdiction. In a statement, the I.O.C. executive board said that after “thorough analysis” by legal experts, it accepted that the Russian committee no longer considered regional sports organizations in Ukrainian territory as its own, and would abstain from doing so in the future.
When the suspension was announced in 2023, Russia questioned why the international committee had not taken similar actions after Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, according to the international organization’s president at the time, Thomas Bach.
“This argument was a little bit, ‘Why did you not sanction us already, earlier?’” Mr. Bach said, arguing that the committee had never accepted the Crimean annexation but did not “have issues” with the nationality of athletes participating in the Olympic Games in Brazil in 2016.
Mikhail V. Degtyarev, Russia’s sports minister, welcomed the ruling, saying it “means that we’re at the negotiating table,” and he pledged to continue pursuing talks with the I.O.C. “to restore the rights of all Russian athletes.”
The I.O.C. said that all Russian athletes returning to international competition will have to meet relevant antidoping requirements, overseen by the international authorities, given the lack of confidence in Russian oversight.
The decision to lift Russia’s suspension came after an I.O.C. meeting in Milan earlier this year, where members signaled a willingness to welcome Russia back into competition, even as its war against Ukraine has continued.
The suspension had served as a rebuke of the 2022 Russian invasion, but a small number of Russian athletes unaffiliated with the military, were allowed to compete as “neutrals” at the 2024 summer and 2026 winter games.
Even before the invasion, Russia faced restrictions because of a state-sanctioned doping program that was discovered in 2014 and that Russian officials admitted to in 2016.
The country was allowed to participate in the 2016 summer games, but many of its athletes were barred. The IO.C. then banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Games but agreed to allow Russian athletes with no known doping history to compete as “neutral.”
In 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency banned Russia from international competition — including the Olympic Games — for four years, a punishment that was later reduced to two years after arbitration.
Kirsty Coventry, the I.O.C. president and a former Olympic swimmer for Zimbabwe, said at a news conference on Tuesday that the decision to allow Russia back into the Olympics was based on a principle of neutrality in sports that has long undergirded the international competition.
“We want all athletes to have the possibility to participate in the Olympics and not be held responsible for the actions of their governments,” she said.
The decision “does not signal” that the committee is validating war, she added. “On the contrary.”
In its statement, the international committee said it “continues to stand in solidarity with the Olympic community of Ukraine.”
But Ms. Coventry also noted that there some limits on Russia’s participation in the games remain. There will be no Olympic events held in the country, Russian officials will not be invited to events, and protocols regarding the Russian flag, anthem, colors and other identifiers at the games have yet to be determined.
The committee’s decision did not come as a surprise. After an international committee meeting early this year, Ms. Coventry signaled that the Russian suspension could end.
At the time, she said the committee’s job included “keeping sport a neutral ground.”
Nataliya Vasilyeva and Tariq Panja contributed reporting.
