MOSCOW — The International Olympic Committee (IOC) "provisionally" lifted its suspension of Russia on Tuesday — a decision laced with controversy amid Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine that nonetheless opens a path for Russian athletes to compete as full-fledged participants in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and beyond.The decision effectively overturns the IOC's decade-long ban on Russian athletes from international sport — the price of a state-sponsored doping scandal dating back to the Russian-hosted Sochi Games of 2014 as well as the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of its neighbor eight years later.In doing so, the IOC argued Russia had addressed the key legal issue at the heart of the ban: Russia's Olympic Committee had distanced itself from affiliate sports chapters in four occupied territories of Ukraine that Russia illegally claimed to annex in 2022.While the IOC characterized its decision as provisional, it didn't clarify potential penalties for Russia's noncompliance.Olympic officials said in a statement that they will continue to monitor the situation in Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia and will "take any further measures as deemed necessary."More fundamentally, the IOC seemed to acknowledge the difficulty of maintaining a ban on athletes over Russia's actions in Ukraine at a moment when war and conflict are roiling the globe."The IOC recognises that an athlete's participation in international competition should not be limited by the involvement of their government in a war or conflict," the IOC statement said, noting "the complex realities and consequences of the current geopolitical context.""Amidst growing global instability and conflict, the IOC must uphold its mission to preserve a values-based and truly global sporting platform that provides hope to the world."In from the Olympic wilderness? In Moscow, Russian officials celebrated the IOC ruling as justice overdue."It's an important step towards returning the lawful rights of our at...