The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has declared its plans to follow up an Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) proposal to enable Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in its competitions.

Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) President Stanislav Pozdnyakov attended the Summit, together with his counterparts from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Susanne Lyons and Chinese Olympic Committee Gao Zhidan.

The outcome of the Olympic Summit has faced strong criticism in Ukraine from Youth and Sports Minister and National Olympic Committee President Vadym Guttsait and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Lyons yesterday said that the USOPC agreed with the declaration that "the IOC could pursue that in the best long-term interest of the Movement", but insisted that any return for Russia and Belarus would have to be under conditions of "strict neutrality."

Matytsin observed a softening in the Olympic Movement's stance on Russia and Belarus.

"Increasingly, reasonable statements are heard in the world sports community about the inadmissibility of the politicisation of sports, the level of international competitions has fallen due to the absence of Russian and Belarusian athletes," he told Russia's official state news agency TASS.

"I don’t want to make hasty conclusions, the decision remains with the International Olympic Committee.

"The Russian Ministry of Sports hopes that the IOC will listen to the opinion of sports experts and return the Olympic Movement to the path outside of politics.

"Our athletes deserve to participate in the Olympic Games - they have been preparing for the most important starts in their careers all their professional lives."

Matytsin added that the Ministry of Sports "highly appreciates" the OCA's proposal, although Russian National Federations have offered mixed views on whether they would be willing to compete in Asian continental events.

National gymnastics head coach Valentina Rodionenko insisted that qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics could only come through participation at the European Championships in Turkey followed by the World Championships in Belgium, and Russian Basketball Federation President Andrey Kirilenko said "we are not seriously thinking about" transferring from Europe to Asia, according to TASS.

Russian Handball Federation President Sergey Shishkarev claimed that the OCA's offer "deserves great respect" and "any option that would bring our countries closer to participation in the Olympic Games should be used to the fullest", and Russian Climbing Federation President Dmitry Bychkov admitted the organisation is "considering a transition to Asia", as reported by TASS.

Marina Sechina, the head of the Russian Equestrian Federation, concurred that the OCA's initiative would help "bring us closer to the Olympics", as reported by TASS, and Igor Levitin - aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin - said that the Russian Football Union is "thinking" of a move to Asia.

However, Russian Weightlifting Federation President Maxim Agapitov told TASS that Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under a neutral banner would be a "perversion of Olympic principles".

ROC President Pozdnyakov provided his reaction to the Olympic Summit, declaring it a success from a Russian perspective and claiming that it would mean "in the near future our athletes will be able to return to the international arena and compete in Olympic qualification competitions".

"Yes, of course, for this it is necessary, at a minimum, that the IOC cancel the current recommendations, but the general content and direction of today's discussion testify, in my opinion, to the victory of sports diplomacy and common sense," he wrote on Telegram.

"I believe that the efforts of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and many of our colleagues, who did not exchange for useless and sometimes harmful empty chatter, but carried out purposeful, constructive work.

"As a result, what few people believed in until recently may soon become a reality."

The IOC has sought to distinguish between sanctions against the Russian and Belarusian Governments and states, including a ban on both countries' national symbols, flags and anthems, and its recommendations on the non-participation of athletes from both countries in competitions, which it says is a "protective measure".