Fasel, Karins and representatives of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation held a virtual meeting to discuss next year’s World Championships, which Latvia is currently set to co-host with Belarus.

Karins has previously said Latvia will not host the World Championship with its neighbour.

His call followed the controversial re-election of Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko, where he supposedly won with 80 per cent of the vote.

The election has been criticised as neither "free nor fair" by the European Union, which joined Latvia in introducing sanctions against officials involved in a crackdown on protests in Belarus.

The IIHF said Karins stressed his support of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation organising next year’s event in Riga during the meeting.

Karins highlighted that the need to provide safe conditions for players, participants, media, officials and fans is a priority, when addressing the situation in Belarus.

Fasel reportedly agreed with his assessment, although the IIHF President claimed the organisation "operates outside politics and is trying to do everything possible to make the World Championships take place in the two countries that were voted on by the IIHF Congress".

The challenges posed by coronavirus was also discussed.

"Today we had a very positive meeting with representatives from the Latvian government and the Latvian tournament organiser on the subject of the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship," Fasel said.

"We were honoured to have Prime Minister Karins’ participation in this meeting and are grateful for his valued input into the situation facing Minsk/Riga 2021.

"The main topics discussed surrounded the capabilities of tournament organizers to deliver a safe and secure World Championship, an especially difficult challenge with Europe now in the middle of a second COVID-19 wave.

"We are not yet under pressure to make immediate decisions regarding the tournament, and we must keep analysing the situation in both countries as it evolves.

"This takes time, and in the next phase of this process we will present a security analysis to the IIHF Council and determine the next steps towards ensuring a safe and secure 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship."

The IIHF said Karins had emphasised that the Latvian Government will respect the decision of the IIHF Council regarding World Championship.

Fasel is expected to meet with the ambassador of Belarus to Switzerland next week prior to the IIHF Council meeting.

Belarus has to date been vocal in its opposition to moving the World Championship, with the country’s Prime Minister yesterday describing threats to boycott the event as "untenable" and an attempt at blackmail.

The IIHF Council is expected to review a report by its Expert Group on preparations for the World Championship on Monday (November 16).

The Expert Group was commissioned to produce a report by the IIHF Council in September.

The group was asked to "work out a clear picture of the situation with the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship".

The 16-team competition is currently scheduled to run from May 21 to June 6 next year.

Belarus is scheduled to stage matches in 2021 at Minsk Arena, with Latvia planning to use Arena Riga.

Both semi-finals and the medal matches are due to be held in Minsk, which was the sole host of the 2014 Men's World Championship.