United World Wrestling has agreed to readmit Russian wrestlers as neutrals following the IOC's recommendations ©Getty Images

Russian Wrestling Federation President Mikhail Mamiashvili has claimed that United World Wrestling (UWW) is looking to "simplify the issue of admission of our athletes as much as possible".

The UWW Bureau ruled last week to allow wrestlers from Russia and Belarus to return to international competition as neutrals after staging an extraordinary meeting.

The decision came after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be readmitted, providing they do not support the invasion of Ukraine and are not affiliated to the military.

UWW President Nenad Lalovic, who is a member of the IOC Executive Board, claimed at the time of the announcement that his organisation had a "great potential to help in peacebuilding".

The worldwide governing body is now expected to become the first International Federation to ask the IOC to soften its recommendations as it looks to raise the issue of banning competitors with military connections.

Mamiashvili told Russia's official state news agency TASS that the IOC would have the final say on conditions but claimed that UWW was pushing to loosen the restrictions.

Russian Wrestling Federation President Mikhail Mamiashvili, second from left, and his UWW counterpart Nenad Lalovic, second from right, pictured with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, right, back in 2013 ©Getty Images
Russian Wrestling Federation President Mikhail Mamiashvili, second from left, and his UWW counterpart Nenad Lalovic, second from right, pictured with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, right, back in 2013 ©Getty Images

"The commission, represented by members of the governing body of the UWW, is determined to simplify the issue of admission of our athletes as much as possible, but in its decisions, I think, it will be guided by the main position of the IOC," said Mamiashvili.

"If we talk about our youth under 15 and 17 who were allowed to compete, then we are still in coordination of their performances with the UWW.

"We need to understand the details in order to build the team's preparation."

The Russian Olympic Committee team won four wrestling gold medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics - a figure exceeded only by host nation Japan.

The Russian Wrestling Federation also topped the rankings in the men's freestyle and Greco-Roman events at the 2021 UWW World Championships in Oslo.

Mamiashvili’s comments come after Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov expressed his confidence that the IOC’s strict criteria on the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus would be relaxed.

"Undoubtedly, before the 2024 Games, the IOC will largely review the unfair and unacceptable conditions," Pozdnyakov told TASS.

insidethegames has contacted UWW for comment.