The General Assembly of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) has voted to restore national symbols to participants from Russia and Belarus, according to a statement by the federation’s press service. Earlier, Ukraine said it views such actions as tacit approval of the destruction of Ukrainian athletes.

Previously, Dmitry Tymoshenko, First Secretary of Ukraine’s Permanent Mission, urged UN member states to continue suspending Russian athletes from international competitions, UkrInform reports. He emphasized that Russian aggression deprives sport of its ability to serve as a factor for peace.

Restoring participation legitimizes the occupation, normalizes war crimes, and lifts the isolation of the two regimes.

FIDE voting and the two scenarios

At the FIDE General Assembly, two resolutions were considered:

• The Russian Chess Federation proposed the full restoration of rights for Russian and Belarusian participants.
• The FIDE Council proposed restoring rights only for juniors, in line with IOC recommendations.

Voting results:

• For the Russian resolution: 61 countries in favor, 51 against, 14 abstained from voting, 15 abstentions.
• For the FIDE Council resolution: 69 countries in favor, 40 against, 15 abstentions, 17 did not vote.

Both decisions became legally binding.

Consequences for international sport

FIDE adopted the following measures:

• Russian and Belarusian participants are allowed to compete in team competitions.
• National symbols are restored at the junior level.
• Official FIDE events are permitted to be held in Belarus.

Regarding senior-level competitions and the use of flags and anthems, a decision will be made later after consultations with the IOC.

The federation explained that the voting was conducted by a simple majority, not as a critical issue, so the decision on national symbols was adopted under general conditions.