IOC in High-Wire Diplomacy Over Fate of Russia’s Olympic Ban

Igor Levitin, the Russian aide, did turn 66 on Wednesday. But between Russia and the IOC, other important matters loom.

Suspended indefinitely over a doping scandal, Russia is eager to reintegrate with the Olympic family. The IOC has said it would make a decision on extending the ban or reinstating the country this week, after receiving a report on how Russian officials and athletes behaved ahead of and during the Pyeongchang Games.

But the process has been complicated by the fact that a Russian curler tested positive for a banned substance after winning a bronze medal at the Pyeongchang Games. That has turned the review into an act of high-wire diplomacy.

A swift reinstatement could weaken the IOC’s stance that it has no-tolerance for doping. At the same time, the IOC can ill-afford to let a crisis with Russia—a sports giant and one of its biggest national committees—fester and steal attention from Olympic competitions.

Russia is keen to recover membership this week because it would allow its athletes—who compete in Pyeongchang in neutral uniforms and under the Olympic flag—to march under their country’s colors during the Games’ Closing Ceremony on Sunday. All 168 Russian athletes present have their banned uniforms in their suitcases, a Russian official said.

The IOC said halfway measures or a partial lifting of the ban were possible.

The Russian embassy in Seoul didn’t respond to a request for comment on the purpose of Mr. Levitin’s visit to South Korea.

One of the main criteria for Russia’s readmission, IOC officials said, will be whether government officials in Moscow have “accepted and understood” the suspension.

Announced by the IOC on Dec. 5, the ban was based on the results of a protracted probe that concluded Russia ran a state-sponsored doping scheme during the 2014 Games it hosted in Sochi.

Russia denies the accusations. While the Kremlin isn’t expected to change course, IOC officials said they would consider payment of a $15 million fine by Russia as a proxy for wrongdoing admittance.

Russia and the IOC declined to say whether the fine, which was imposed to help offset investigation costs, has been paid.

The revelation over the weekend that Russian curler and bronze medallist Aleksandr Krushelnitckii tested positive for a banned substance will be a stain on the report, one IOC official said. But IOC officials later said they welcomed Russia’s decision to apologize for the incident and not challenge the test’s results.

On Thursday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, a tribunal for sports cases, said the curler had admitted the anti-doping rule violation.

Another important element of the review, IOC officials said, will be how Russian athletes behaved during the Olympic fortnight, again to verify they have accepted the ban.

Overall, IOC officials said they have been pleased with the behavior of Russian athletes but recorded a few incidents. After winning bronze in short-track, Russian skater Semen Elistratov dedicated his medal to his friends “who were excluded in a mean and disgusting way and without any explanation.”

“That will feature in the report,” one IOC official said. “It will be part of the assessment.”

Sign up to receive our Olympics Briefing. Reporting live from the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Get the smartest insights delivered to your inbox.

Write to David Gauthier-Villars at David.Gauthier-Villars@wsj.com