Russia and military ally Belarus remain largely banned from world sport, with the majority of International Federations imposing sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach told the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) General Assembly here that it was "not the time" for the organisation to change its recommendations to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from events.

However, Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov has claimed that "opinion is getting louder" on a potential return to international competition after attending the meeting in Seoul.

Kseniya Sankovich, secretary general of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus, has also claimed that she found "some warming" towards both countries at the gathering.

There had been suggestions before the ANOC General Assembly that restrictions could be loosened to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes who declare their opposition to the military assault a pathway back to compete.

However, Reinsalu has insisted that athletes from the two countries had no place in sport while Ukraine continues to be under attack from Russian forces.

"In a situation where Russia's war on Ukraine has been ongoing for over eight months and has also recently escalated, our support for Ukraine must be stronger than ever," said Reinsalu, as reported by Estonian broadcaster ERR News.

"This means that we will not make any concessions with our current measures in place on the aggressor state; on the contrary, we must continue to put pressure on Russia in every way, in order to bring the war against Ukraine to an end.

"It is inconceivable that they would be able to stand side-by-side [with sportspeople from other countries] in the international sports arena, while at the same time deliberate attacks on ordinary people, their homes and the civilian infrastructure are going on in Ukraine.

"Restrictions must remain as long as the war against Ukraine continues."