When from the IOC: lifting EU sanctions against Degtyarev will simplify access to competitions

The lifting of EU sanctions against Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sports and head of the Russian Olympic Committee, will simplify the negotiation process with the IOC and international federations, the State Duma committees on International Affairs and Sports told Izvestia. Earlier, the head of the International Athletics Federation and a candidate for the post of president of the IOC, Sebastian Coe, made it clear that he was in favor of a full-fledged return of athletes from the Russian Federation. Some Russian businessmen were also removed from the sanctions list. Hungary played a key role in this, according to media reports.

The EU lifted sanctions against Mikhail Degtyarev

The European Union, preparing to extend individual sanctions against Russians for another six months, made unexpected exceptions. The ambassadors of the member states removed three Russians from the "blacklist" at the request of Hungary, Euronews, Reuters and the Financial Times write.

Initially, according to media reports, Budapest insisted on lifting sanctions against nine people, including Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman. However, after "intensive discussions," Friedman remained on the list, but Vyacheslav Kantor, the main owner of the Akron group of mineral fertilizer companies, Gulbakhor Ismailova, the sister of Alisher Usmanov, the founder of the USM holding company, and, most curiously, Mikhail Degtyarev, the Minister of Sports and head of the Russian Olympic Committee, fell under the "amnesty."

The minister was surprised by the news. "I was included in the EU sanctions list 11 years ago, in July 2014, as one of the first deputies of the State Duma for humanitarian assistance to children of Donbass and the opening of the DPR representative office in Moscow. So the news of their removal came as a surprise, especially since my political position has not changed in all this time," Mikhail Degtyarev said.

He noted that the Ministry of Sports and the Russian Olympic Committee are doing a lot of international work to bring the Russian national team back to all international competitions, including the Olympic Games.

Mikhail Degtyarev's withdrawal from EU sanctions will give him the opportunity to work more closely and solve complex issues facing our sport internationally, Alexei Chepa, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told Izvestia.

— I think that this will be an impetus for the admission of our athletes to the international arena. This will simplify communication and the negotiation process with the IOC and international federations," Dmitry Svishchev, a member of the Russian State Duma Committee on Sports and president of the Russian Curling Federation, told Izvestia. — Now we have more opportunities. I think that the process of our restoration in the international family will accelerate. This is a good sign, which contributes to the emergence of new opportunities for systematic work.

Earlier, the head of the International Athletics Federation and IOC presidential contender Sebastian Coe made it clear that he supports the full-fledged return of Russian athletes. In this regard, the decision of the EU Council to lift sanctions against the head of the Russian sports department can be cautiously considered part of a new emerging trend, which, if developed, could lead to the improvement of the sports sphere of international cooperation, Alexei Zudin, senior lecturer at MGIMO, told Izvestia.

How Russia returns to the world of sports

Mikhail Degtyarev became the head of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation in May 2024. In September, in an interview with Izvestia, he stated the need to negotiate with the International Olympic Committee and international sports federations on the return of Russians to their competitions. In addition, he called for refraining from criticizing domestic athletes for agreeing to compete in a neutral status. Before that, none of the sports officials had so confidently stated such a position.

In December, Degtyarev was elected president of the ROC. Soon, Russians' access to international competitions in a neutral status really increased dramatically. In December, Russian swimmers successfully competed at the World Short Course Championships in Budapest. Over the past three months, synchronized swimmers, divers, gymnasts, figure skaters, speed skaters and representatives of the short track have also been admitted to the international arena. In the last three sports, admission occurred before the selection for the 2026 Olympics.

It is worth noting that until December 2024, Russian athletes were allowed only in individual disciplines. Now, swimmers have started being admitted to relay races, duet competitions in synchronized swimming and diving.

Before Degtyarev joined the Ministry of Sports and the ROC, it was possible to achieve disbandment only in relation to a few sports, including wrestling, judo and fencing. In these sports, Russian athletes have been competing at international competitions since the summer of 2023 in a neutral status. At the same time, the IOC recommendations to international federations dated March 2023 included the non-admission of athletes who hold officer ranks in law enforcement agencies and advocate for the relevant organizations — CSKA (its athletes wear the uniform of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation) and VFSO Dynamo (Rosgvardiya officers advocate for it).

But in December 2024, recommendations appeared to admit representatives of CSKA and Dynamo. Recall that after February 2022, only tennis players competing in a neutral status, as well as boxers flying the Russian flag, escaped the ban.

Why Hungary is against sanctions against Russian sports

The precedents of lifting restrictions against individuals are still extremely rare. For example, in 2024, the EU excluded Arkady Volozh, the former head of Yandex, who opposed the SVO, as well as Sergey Mndoyants, vice president of AFK Sistema, and Josef Gambalek, president of the European branch of the Night Wolves motorcycle club, from the blacklist. From the sanctions list, where there are now more than 2.4 thousand names and titles, they are excluded mainly in the event of the death of the holders of restrictions.

Some of those who have been sanctioned are trying to get them lifted legally. In April 2024, the European Court of General Jurisdiction decided to lift the EU personal restrictions imposed on businessmen Mikhail Fridman and Peter Aven. The Court considered the reasons given by the EU Council for including businessmen in the list insufficiently substantiated. However, most often such instances do not make decisions in favor of the plaintiffs: on March 12, the Court of Justice of the European Union rejected the claim of the head of the state corporation VEB.Igor Shuvalov's Russian Federation on the lifting of EU sanctions.

Hungary's role in removing Russians from the sanctions list is not surprising. Budapest has consistently opposed restrictions in the humanitarian sphere, including sports, culture and religion. In particular, in February, Hungary did not allow 27 individuals and organizations, including Patriarch Kirill, the ROC and two Russian football teams, to be included in the 16th package of EU anti-Russian sanctions, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

Hungary noted at the time that the inclusion of sports organizations in the sanctions list because of the conflict in Ukraine would look absurd and undermine confidence in the mechanism of the European Union. The EU has long discredited itself by putting unprecedented pressure on Russia in areas that should not be subject to geopolitics.

On the other hand, it gave an impetus to development in all these areas, including sports. In recent years, Russia has created a number of alternative competition formats. In 2024, Kazan hosted the Friendship Games, an international tournament in the digital sports format (involving both physical and digital competitions). At the same time, the BRICS Games were held, in which athletes from 89 countries took part. At the same time, the prospect of returning to traditional international formats does not automatically mean forgetting new ones, which allow, among other things, deepening cooperation with friendly countries. Even if Russian athletes return to the Olympic Games under the national flag of the Russian Federation, it is worth preserving these formats, said Deputy Chepa.

Hungary, one might say, is also isolated. In the EU, Budapest's position, which contradicts Brussels in the context of anti-Russian sanctions, continues to be the object of fierce criticism from some member states. Despite this, Hungary still manages to achieve some success in curbing restrictions against the Russian Federation, Alexey Zudin, senior lecturer at MGIMO, told Izvestia.

The current Hungarian leadership is an atypical member of the EU, as it defends national interests and seeks to restore normal relations with Russia. This is due to deep economic ties with the Russian Federation, since Hungary imports almost all of its oil consumption from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline, while receiving gas via the Turkish Stream. Budapest is also actively cooperating with Rosatom on the issue of nuclear energy, in particular during the construction of the Paks-2 nuclear power plant.