Turkey, due to host next year's European Weightlifting Championships, are among nine countries who have been banned by the IWF for a year ©Getty Images

Next year's European Weightlifting Championships in Antalya has been moved so the seven countries, including hosts Turkey and Russia, who would miss the event after being banned for doping can take part, it has been claimed.

Along with Russia and Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine were all banned for one-year last week by the International Weightlifing Federation (IWF) Executive Board at its meeting in Bucharest after registering three or more drugs positives following re-analysis of samples from the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games in Beijing and London respectively.

Russia was the worst offender with 10 positives.

But Russian Weightlifting Federation (RWF) President Maxim Agapitov has now revealed that the 2018 European Championships will be re-arranged so the banned countries will be able to take part in the event.

"The European Championships scheduled for March has been put off until late autumn as our suspension will be lifted then," told Russia's official state news agency TASS.

The Championships due to be held in the Turkish resort between March 23 and April 1 but will now be held later in the year after the countries' suspension ends in mid-October.

Russia has finished top for 11 of the last 15 editions of the Championships, including in Split earlier this year when they won 33 medals,13 of them gold. 

In the four Championships where Russia was not top of the medals table, either Armenia, Azerbaijan or Turkey were.

In Split, four of the countries now banned were among the top six countries. 

The decision to ban a total of nine countries - China and Kazakhstan were also suspended - was part of a new hardline approach by  the IWF as it battles to save its place on the Olympic programme.

All the countries will now miss this year's IWF World Championships in Anaheim in the United States from November 28 until December 5.

Russia has finished top in 11 of the last 15 editions of the European Championships, including in Split earlier this year where they won 33 medals, 13 of them gold ©Getty Images
Russia has finished top in 11 of the last 15 editions of the European Championships, including in Split earlier this year where they won 33 medals, 13 of them gold ©Getty Images

Russia also missed last year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after they were banned. 

Agapitov revealed they are considering appealing against this latest decision by the IWF Executive Board. 

"As for the possibility to appeal the decision by the Executive Board of the international federation, within two weeks we will receive full decision of the organization and hold consultations on this," he told TASS.

Agapitov, though, did admit that Russia needs to reform so it avoids more problems. 

"I will stress one more time - we need to accept the fact that we had systemic violations," he said.

"We need to build our future."

The decision to move the event was taken following a meeting between the European Weightlifting Federation (EWF) and the Turkish Weightlifting Federation. 

"The IWF made a strong decision in Bucharest and the European Championships fall under the sole authority of the EWF," a spokeswoman for the IWF told insidethegames.

"We haven't received any written statement regarding this issue so we are not able to comment.

insidethegames has asked the EWF for a comment.