CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, March 5 (Reuters) - The participation of Russia and Belarus in the Paralympic Games was the result of a democratic process, International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons said on Thursday, a day before the opening ceremony.
Russia and Belarus will have a combined total of 10 athletes at the Games in Italy, competing in skiing and snowboarding events only.
Both countries were banned from Paralympic competitions after Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but were admitted
back to the IPC in September following a vote by the organisation's general assembly.
As they were still banned by winter sports federations, the two nations were awarded the spots at these Paralympics after winning a Court of Arbitration for Sport appeal against the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) in December.
The IPC announced the decision to grant the 10 spots last month, during the Milano Cortina Olympics, triggering the ire of several countries.
“I acknowledge this decision has not been well received in some parts of the world," Parsons told a press conference. "I want to stress that the IPC is a democratic global organisation whose decisions on member suspension are determined by its members."
Several nations have decided to skip the opening ceremony parade on Friday following the readmission of Russia and Belarus, to show solidarity with Ukraine.
“We cannot pick and choose when to be democratic based on the outcome of the decisions from the general assembly," Parsons said. “It was a democratic process carried out in accordance with the procedure set out in the IPC's constitution. 177 of our 211 member organisations were present to vote."
The Games have also been hit by the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran, with the conflict affecting travel, including for athletes and teams bound for Italy.
"The IPC is currently monitoring the situation and is continuing to collect, confirm and assess the available information to determine the impact on these Games and the wider Paralympic movement," Parsons said.
"We recognise the situation affects not just the National Paralympic Committees competing at the Games, but also our wider membership."
The IPC will have a record 612 athletes from 56 delegations at the Games which run to March 15. Friday's opening ceremony will take place at Verona’s ancient Roman arena, about 170 km (106 miles) east of Milan.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Additional reporting by Giancarlo Navach in MilanEditing by Toby Davis)
