After his strongly worded statement was published in the Russian media today, insidethegames asked Agapitov if Russian athletes would compete in an Olympic qualifying competition in Cuba next month.

He responded by sending a copy of a letter addressed to the IWF yesterday by the Russian Weightlifting Federation (RWF), which asks for more details and says that the RWF must hold a Board meeting before making any decision.

"The meeting of the RWF Executive Board will be held soon, the IWF will be immediately notified in the results of the meeting," the letter states.

It also says that translating documents from English to Russian took time, that they had now been sent to athletes and with a response expected soon.

The eligibility conditions, full details of which have now been made public, exclude athletes, coaches and other support personnel from Russia and Belarus with links to military and state security organisations, as well as those who have stated support for the war in Ukraine in any way on social media or elsewhere.

No "statement or behaviour" in support of the war may be made at competition venues and in "the wider environment" such as hotels, on competition transport, or travelling to and from a host city.

Athletes who are eligible must compete in a grey uniform free of designs or logos, and will lift as individual neutrals.

Although the National Federations of Russia and Belarus are responsible for the athletes' applications, they must be made on a neutral headed document without reference to their country and without any "distinctive emblem, symbol, logo or flag".

Those who apply for eligibility must agree to undergo a vetting procedure and ongoing checks.

Disqualifications, fines of up to $5,000 and suspensions can be imposed on any individual who contravenes the eligibility rules, and there is a maximum fine of $100,000 against a National Federation deemed to have broken them.

All the conditions, with the athlete declaration form, can be read here.

The IWF made its decision, which opens the qualifying pathway to Paris 2024 for neutral athletes from both countries, at a Board meeting last Friday.

It said that it was following advice from the IOC rather than making up its own new rules.

The IWF was endorsing and applying the IOC’s "recommendations for International Federations and international sports event organisers on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions."

International Federations in other sports have done the same as the IWF.

Weightlifters who are deemed eligible can compete at the IWF Grand Prix, the third Olympic qualifier, in Havana next month. 

Anybody who is not in the qualifying programme when the competition in Cuba begins on June 8 cannot qualify for Paris.

Participation in IWF qualifying competitions does not guarantee a place at Paris 2024, "as decisions regarding such participation are within the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of the IOC".

Agapitov, who has spoken out against the IOC, the IWF and the European Weightlifting Federation (EWF) in recent weeks, said the conditions contravened the Olympic Charter.

"The criteria created on the basis of the recommendations of the IOC, as the recommendations themselves, are excessive, unfounded and discriminatory… and therefore unconstitutional," he told Russia’s state news agency TASS.

"The fact is that both the Olympic Charter and the IWF constitution expressly prohibit any such discrimination, including on political or national grounds."

Agapitov said the IWF Board was "showing a strange forgetfulness about the dozens of regional conflicts currently in the world".

He said its decision was "made according to orders" from the IOC and that the IWF "did not dare to go its own way".

"This once again testifies to the lack of independence of the IWF, as well as an unscrupulous desire to remove worthy rivals from the road with the help of political templates…"

Last month, after Agapitov took part in the Congress of the EWF in Armenia before the European Championships began, he said the continent’s governing body was following "an imposed, controlled trend of politicisation and divisiveness" in barring athletes from Russia and Belarus.

"Such an unsportsmanlike approach is typical of recent times in both the EWF and the IWF. 

"Today they are not given the right to decide anything on their own and even speak 'incorrectly' on this topic.

"We are ready to openly discuss any issues and cooperate with everyone who is able not only to appreciate sports principles in words, but also to defend them with deeds.

"Today it is necessary more than ever for the sake of saving the idea and meaning of the Olympic movement. 

"It is clearly under threat."

The RWF letter to the IWF says the Board meeting is a necessary part of the procedure for making decisions on what is required from the federation and its athletes.

It also requests "extracts from the minutes of the meeting of the IWF Executive Board dated May 12, 2023".

Details of final, eligible entries for Cuba are expected to be released by the IWF at some point next week.