LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (Reuters) - Sports federations must move or cancel events planned in Russia or Belarus, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Friday, a day after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Russian troops entered Ukraine through Belarus when the invasion began on Thursday. The Ukrainian chief of staff said Friday that the Russians were using an airfield in Belarus to line up troops to assault kyiv.
"The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee today reiterated the IOC's strong condemnation of the violation of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government and the government of Belarus for their support of it," the IOC said in a statement.
He said international sports federations "must take into account the breaking of the Olympic truce by the Russian and Belarusian governments and give absolute priority to the safety of athletes."
The IOC also said the national flags of Russia and Belarus should not be displayed at international sporting events.
Russian athletes did not compete in the Beijing Games under their flag and their anthem was not played at any ceremony, following sanctions imposed for widespread doping in many sports that was exposed after the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
The invasion of Ukraine caused Russia to lose the Champions League final, the Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Ski World Cup events, among other events.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bangalore; edited in Spanish by Javier Leira)
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