Eligibility for neutral status requires that athletes not have actively supported the invasion of Ukraine, have no ties to Russian or Belarusian military or state security agencies, and accept an individual invitation plus sign the Olympic Charter commitment.

This step sits within broader sanctions on Russian participation in international sport since the 2022 invasion, and reflects ongoing attention to the coaching network around Petrosian.

The IOC’s neutral-status process and the initial athletes list will be updated as decisions are handed down by the Independent Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel, with further updates as reviews continue.

Readers are pointed to AP’s Milan Cortina 2026 hub for ongoing coverage and context on neutral participation ahead of the games.

The decision comes after the Russian Olympic Committee was suspended in October 2023 due to its actions in Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions, influencing the neutral-status framework.

The IOC emphasizes that the initial neutral athletes list will be updated in line with decisions from the Independent Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel and ongoing federation policy reviews.

The process remains dynamic, with changes contingent on evolving reviews by the independent neutral committee and federation decisions.

The International Olympic Committee approved three figure skaters from Russia and Belarus to compete as neutrals at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games, continuing the IOC’s vetting of athletes from these countries.

Among the athletes is a skater trained in the Petrosian/Tutberidze circle, with the backdrop of Petrosian’s Beijing result and Safonova’s fourth-place finish behind him.

The IOC’s vetting process for neutral participation mirrors the approach used for the 2024 Paris Summer Games, applied here ahead of Milan-Cortina.

The Beijing qualifier marked the first ISU event Russians could enter since the 2022 invasion, underscoring the ongoing eligibility and vetting dynamics surrounding neutral participation.

Petrosian is identified as part of coach Eteri Tutberidze’s training group, a recurring point of discussion in recent Olympic coverage.