The agreement was signed by Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin and Sergei Kovalchuk, Belarus’ Minister of Sports and Tourism.

A joint meeting between the two ministries was held in the city of Brest in Belarus.

Matytsin said the agreement could include the possibility of holding Tokyo 2020 preparation camps jointly at Russian training bases.

“It includes cooperation in scientific and methodological support of national teams, in organising and conducting joint training camps and competitions in the territories of Belarus and Russia, the possibility of joint preparation for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in the far east bases of Russia,” Matytsin said, according to Russia’s state news agency TASS.

“Much attention in the agreement is paid to the development of programmes of medical control and support, training both at the stages of work of sports schools and national teams.

“We are also talking about mutual support of our candidates to international federations and about the programme to combat doping.

"As a rule, our athletes hold training camps in Belarus in Raubichi and Stayki, and such a training camps programme will continue in 2021 and 2022.”

Belarus is facing the prospect of sanctions following allegations from athletes that its National Olympic Committee (NOC) is discriminating against them for their political views.

Banning the country's flag from the Olympic Games is among the sanctions available to the IOC should the organisation decide the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus - led by Alexander Lukashenko - has breached the Olympic Charter.

Anti-Government protests have been staged across Belarus since the controversial re-election of Lukashenko on August 9.

Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, supposedly won with 80 per cent of the vote.

The European Union is among those to have condemned the election, stating it was "neither free nor fair".

Russia is Belarus’ key ally.

Matytsin claimed sport can be used as part of diplomacy.

"We are of the opinion that sport is a very effective means of diplomacy, and we will use every opportunity to eliminate the influence of negative political factors on the activities of sports organisations, on the destabilisation of the organisation of both competitions and the training process," he said, according to TASS.