Estonia's Olympic committee, the EOK, along with the equivalent bodies in the other two Baltic states as well as Ukraine's Olympic body (NOK) issued a statement condemning the decision, which will also allow athletes from Belarus, whose regime is aligned with Moscow's, to compete under their flag.

Up to now Russian and Belarusian competitors had generally taken part in major international sporting events under the IOC's remit under a neutral flag. The IOC decision paves the way for these competitors to potentially take part in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, for instance, under their own flags.

The heads of the Baltic states' Olympic committees met in Riga on Thursday to discuss joint cooperation and strengthening collaboration within the Baltic Olympic movement, with talks covering the position of the Baltic states and Ukraine on the recent IOC announcement.

"We hope that international sports federations and the European Union will do everything in their power to ensure that Russians do not return to actual competition any time soon, especially not under their own flag and symbols," said EOK President Erich Teigamägi, after meeting with his Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts, Raimonds Lazdins and Daina Gudzinevičiūtė.

Along with NOK President Vadym Gutzeit the leaders agreed that given the current circumstances, responsibility must not be shifted onto national sports federations or individual athletes. If athletes, due to their consciences, refuse to compete alongside Russian or Belarusian competitors, this would cut them off from the international sporting community, deprive them of essential competitive experience and, in the long term, would not protect the interests of any democratic country.

"A solution like that is not sustainable. If athletes are forced to withdraw from competition, we would be allowing the aggressor to dictate the rules and so gifting them another victory. For this reason, we are continuing to advise our athletes to compete and to win. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will continue to bar representatives of Russia or Belarus from entering our countries, while we also do not believe it is right for our athletes to travel to compete in Russia or Belarus," Teigamägi went on.

The meeting also discussed the concept of the Baltic House (Balti maja), which will open during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as a joint representation and meeting venue for the three countries in the Olympic host city and will showcase the Baltic states, host joint events and welcome athletes, partners and guests. The agreement was made to admit Ukraine to the Baltic House too as a guest of honor.

Ukraine's youth team preparations ahead of the fall's Dakar Youth Olympic Games were also discussed, and the Latvian Olympic committee chief presented anti-malarial medicines as a gift to Ukraine, jointly from all three Baltic states. Dakar, Senegal's capital, is classified as a seasonal or low-risk malaria zone by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Earlier this month the EOK slammed as "disgraceful" the IOC's decision to provisionally lift its suspension on Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under their national flags. The suspension was introduced in 2023 following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Estonia has also appealed to the European Commission to bar EU funding to the IOC and bodies affiliated with it.

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