Degtyarev pointed to Russia's full-fledged return to the global sports scene.

Russia is fully returning to the international sports arena. This was announced on June 4 by Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev at the "Towards the 2028 Olympics" session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"In total, we have played the [Russian] national anthem 144 times at international competitions since the beginning of the year. This is the world, Europe, the world cups, the European Cups," he said.

Degtyarev added that all restrictions have been completely lifted from the Russian Paralympic team. In addition, the International University Sports Federation has allowed Russian athletes to compete. According to the minister, active work is underway with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He noted that for the first time in recent years, the IOC has announced progress in communication and work with the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).

"For the first time in recent years, the IOC has stated that progress has been made in communication and work with OCD. It's not my words, it's theirs. I confirm that there is progress," Degtyarev concluded.

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On June 2, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) announced the admission of Russian adult national teams to competitions with a flag and anthem. It is specified that the decision will take effect from the World Fencing Championships in Hong Kong, which will be held on July 22-30 this year. The federation noted that the changes are related to the updated recommendations of the IOC, which urged not to impose restrictions on Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Degtyarev announced on May 28 that the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) had annulled the decision to suspend the national teams of Russia and Belarus from participating in international tournaments. Later, the organization clarified that the request for admission of Russians would be further analyzed, taking into account security issues, operational activities and the sports organization of tournaments.