LAUSANNE, Switzerland- The International Olympic Committee on Thursday lifted all restrictions on Belarusian athletes, clearing the way for their return to international competitions, including at qualifiers for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, it said in a statement.

The IOC had recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials be banned from events since 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Belarus was used as a staging ground for the Russian invasion.

"The IOC Executive Board no longer recommends any restrictions on the participation of Belarusian athletes, including teams, in competitions governed by International Federations and international sports event organizers," the Olympic body said.

Athletes from Belarus can now freely compete under their own flag and anthem, including in team sports. They can also take part in all qualifying events starting later this year for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

At both the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, only a handful of Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to compete, in individual events only and as neutral athletes without their flag.

The IOC said the lifting of restrictions would not apply to Russian athletes. There has been increased speculation a similar decision could be made for Russia in the coming months.

"The situation relating to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is different from that relating to the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus. The NOC of Belarus is in good standing and complies with the Olympic Charter," the IOC said.

Russia's Olympic committee was suspended in October 2023 for recognizing regional Olympic councils for Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine - Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia - following Russia's invasion.

The IOC said at the time this had violated the Olympic Charter and the territorial integrity of Ukraine’s Olympic Committee.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Peter Graff and Toby Davis)