Russian Sports Ministry to seek compensation for removal of Russia from int'l competitions - minister

MOSCOW. March 1 (Interfax) - The Russian Sports Ministry will prepare claims in the wake of decisions to remove a number of international competitions from Russia, Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said.

"There are risks of the disruption of competitions; we'll assess them and prepare our claims based on the removal of competitions from Russian territory. It should be understood on what terms they [agreements on organizing such competitions in Russia] were concluded, and we will seek to have the organizational fees refunded," Matytsin told journalists on Tuesday.

"We have to receive official decisions from the international federations, including FIFA and UEFA, carry out legal analyses, and do whatever possible to protect the interests of Russian sports," he said.

"A dialogue has been arranged with virtually all international federations," he said.

"We are not going to self-isolate, as the development of global sports without Russia is impossible," he said.

"We hope this is not a lasting measure and the Olympic values will be prioritized," he said.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended earlier that international sports federations pull competitions from Russia and Belarus and bar teams from those countries from competing over the situation in Ukraine.

A number of major international sports events have already been pulled from Russia, including the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final in St. Petersburg, the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship 2022, and some others.