PARIS -- Russian teams, including the powerful ice hockey team, remain banned from next year's Winter Olympics in Italy as part of sanctions imposed following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the International Olympic Committee said Tuesday.
The IOC was responding to reports out of Russia that hockey officials from the country had held talks with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) over Olympic participation.
"The IOC Executive Board recommendation from March 2023 with regard to teams of athletes with a Russian passport remains in place," the IOC said. "It is based on the fact that, by definition, a group of Individual Neutral Athletes cannot be considered a team. We take note that the IIHF has confirmed that it will follow this recommendation."
A small number of individual Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to take part in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris after rigorous vetting by the IOC. They competed without the Russian or Belarusian flag and anthem. Instead, they participated as neutral athletes.
Four Russian figure skaters in men's and women's singles were recently approved by the International Skating Union to try to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics as neutral athletes.
Russian ice hockey players won gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and silver four years later in Beijing.
The 2027 Winter Olympics in Italy run from Feb. 6-22.