Central News Agency (Taipei, June 30, CNA Foreign News) The International Skating Union (ISU) announced today that Russian and Belarusian figure skaters will be able to return to international competitions as neutrals in the 2026-2027 season. According to Agence France-Presse, Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from participating in international skating competitions since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The ISU issued a statement saying, "Athletes representing Russia and Belarus will be able to compete without the use of national symbols, including national flags, team uniforms, and anthems." The statement added, "Whether athletes can compete will depend on evidence of violations of neutrality rules, a measure that reinforces the core value of fair competition in ice sports." In February of this year, for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, the ISU, following the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), allowed some Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals. Figure skaters from Russia and Belarus will have reduced entry quotas for the 2026/2027 season. The ISU stated, "This is because they have not participated in ISU events for over three years and have been unable to accumulate world ranking points during this period." Given Russia's significant influence on figure skating, the return of Russian athletes to international competitions is of great significance to the skating world. Russian athletes won 6 out of the 15 medals awarded in figure skating at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. (Translator: Kao Chao-fen / Editor: Liu Shu-chin) 1150630 Choose to stand with the facts. Your sponsorship is a force for safeguarding press freedom. Download the CNA "First-Hand News" APP for real-time updates. This website's text, images, and videos may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or used without authorization.