April 8 (Reuters) - The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) have said they will make cash payments to 116 athletes from the country who were unable to compete at the Milano Cortina Winter Games this year.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Games following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but some were allowed to compete in Italy as neutrals, without a national flag or anthem.
Russian Sports Minister and ROC chairman Mikhail Degtyarev announced the payouts during a meeting on Tuesday with the 13 Russian athletes who competed at the Winter Olympics.
"We decided at the executive committee meeting to award monetary bonuses to all Olympic athletes who were unable to travel to the Games due to treacherous political decisions," he added.
"The Ministry of Sport and the Russian Olympic Committee are doing everything possible to ensure the full return of the Russian national team to international competitions under the national flag and with the national anthem.
"Where necessary, we negotiate; where that fails, we defend the athletes' rights in court so that our team can compete for medals with a full roster."
The IOC did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Nikita Filippov was the only Russian to win a medal at the Winter Olympics, picking up a silver in the inaugural ski mountaineering event.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)
