The appeal follows the IOC executive board's decision Tuesday at a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, to lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee. Estonia is calling for all sports bodies which would permit Russia and Belarus back into international competition to have their EU funding cut.

"In the current security situation, it is impossible to understand decisions which seek to bring aggressor states back into international sport as if nothing had happened," said Culture Minister Heidy Purga (Reform).

"At a time when the war in Ukraine goes on and people are suffering, we cannot allow sport to be used to normalize this situation. Sport is not values-neutral – it always carries a message. The question is whether we stand by our principles, or surrender them. Europe must be clear and united on this: Our support must not reach organizations whose decisions conflict with our values, and our responsibility toward Ukraine," Purga continued, via a press release.

The statement was the initiative of Estonia and has been joined by other nations. It is to be submitted to Glenn Micallef, the European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport.

The statement calls for the IOC and several other sports organizations, including the International Fencing Federation (FIE) and World Aquatics, the international governing body of six major swimming and diving sports, to be excluded from EU funding programs.

The proposal also calls for seriously considering restricting these organizations' participation in future discussions and events concerning the development of sport.

Competitors from Russia and Belarus, whose regime is aligned with Russia's, have mostly only been able to compete under a neutral flag following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine – the ban itself was put in place in 2023. Sport in Estonia falls under the culture ministry's remit.

The Estonian Olympic Committee (EOK) condemned the move, which could pave the way for Russian and Belarusian competitors to take part under their national flags in the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, as well as in other international sporting events. Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) called the decision "disgraceful and irresponsible."

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