Russian Olympic Committee will be represented at the 2022 ANOC General Assembly in Seoul

According to Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) President Stanislav Pozdnyakov, a delegation of the Russian committee will participate in the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) General Assembly, which is scheduled to convene this week in Seoul, South Korea.

“In a couple of days, the ROC delegation will participate in the ANOC General Assembly,” stated Pozdnyakov. “This is the organization uniting all 206 National Olympic Committees.”

“We are the full-fledged participants of the Olympic Movement, but, unfortunately, we cannot say the same about our athletes, who are currently restricted in their right to participate in international tournaments.

“I would like to point out that despite various controversial media reports we have been interacting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) every day since February 24,” Pozdnyakov said.

The 2022 ANOC General Assembly will be held in Seoul, South Korea, from October 18 to 21. The event will feature discussions and presentations by representatives from the various National Olympic Committees.

According to the ANOC’s website, the gathering will be the largest global meeting of sports officials outside of the Olympic Games.

The Latvian Olympic Committee announced on Monday it would not participate in the event if Belarus and Russia were to attend. Their position runs counter to the ANOC Executive Committee that said it will continue to follow the IOC recommendation which will continue to recognize Russia and Belarus among its 204 NOCs.

“The NOCs of Russia and Belarus are still recognized by the IOC and are therefore entitled to attend the ANOC General Assembly as any other recognized NOC,” the statement read.

“ANOC shares the NOCs’ grave concerns regarding the war in Ukraine and stands in solidarity with the Olympic community in Ukraine.”

According to the ROC president, the delegation of the Russian committee will leave for South Korea on October 17. During the General Assembly, the elections for the executive management positions of the organization will be held.

Pozdnyakov voiced his support in electing new members of the executive committee.

“A new president and a vice-president of the organization will be elected and the ROC will be directly involved in this process,” the ROC president concluded.

In a letter to Robin Mitchell, the acting president of the ANOC, the NOCs of Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden have asked ANOC to reconsider the presence of Belarus and Russia at the General Assembly.