The decision comes after the BWF Council voted to approve a regulative framework to allow athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports to begin competing as neutrals in both singles and doubles competition.

Players from the two countries are set to be allowed to participate under a neutral banner in BWF-sanctioned events from February 26 next year.

The BWF revealed that a "few regulative and operaitonal areas are still being determined in the following months" in a bid to finalise the operational framework.

The global governing body said the process to establish eligibility of Russian and Belarusian athletes "will now be initiated".

A panel is set to be tasked with conducting due diligence and scrutinising all conditions of entry.

The BWF has also vowed to "monitor the behaviour of any individual neutral athlete to observer they comply with such conditions".

It is the latest International Federation to agree to adhere to the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee which ruled in March that athletes from Russia and Belarus should be able to return to the global sporting stage providing they did not support the war in Ukraine and are not affiliated with the military.

Players from Russia and Belarus have been banned from competing in BWF events since March last year in response to the war in Ukraine.

The BWF agreed to maintain the ban in April this year when it ruled that it was "not convinced there is satisfactory justification" to lift the restrictions.

A month later, the BWF decided to look at creating a "regulative and operational framework" to allow Russian and Belarusian players to compete as individual neutral athletes.

A BWF Council meeting was held during the World Championships in Danish capital Copenhagen where members voted to lift the ban.

"This is an important decision for the sport," said BWF President Poul-Erik Høyer.

"BWF continues to express unwavering support to the people of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian badminton community, and we strongly condemn the invasion of Ukraine, which works against BWF’s core values and our objective to obtain peace.

"BWF Council equally aligns itself with the principles of the International Olympic Committee and the global sports movement around open participation of athletes in international competitions.

"We feel the decision to lift the suspension on Russian and Belarussian athletes who meet the criteria to participate as individual neutral athletes is a positive step forward as part of our endeavour to promote peace and solidarity.

"Much work has been done to create a safe and thorough process to support this decision and it is important protocols are in place to safeguard all participants moving forward."

The BWF said it would be in discussion with hosts of events in a bid to mitigate the risk of tournament cancellation.

The process for the reintroduction of players from Russia and Belarus is set to begin next month, with those approved expected to be subject to a "robust anti-doping and testing framework".

"If ever the behaviour of an individual athlete compromises the eligibility criteria used for reinstating them in the first place, BWF reserves the right to reconsider their playing status once more," a statement from the BWF added.