Chesnokov questioned the IOC’s stance on Russia and Belarus when speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) at the Palais de l'Europe in Strasbourg.

The public hearing saw Chesnokov join the likes of French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur Alexandra Xanthaki and Association of Summer Olympic International Federations President Francesco Ricci Bitti in discussing whether to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in next year’s Olympics in Paris.

The IOC recommended last month that competitors from Russia and Belarus should be allowed to return to the global sporting stage as individual neutral athletes provided they do not support the war in Ukraine and are not contracted to the military.

A decision on participation for Paris 2024 has yet to be made by the IOC.

The IOC has cited the viewpoints of two Special Rapporteurs of the UN Human Rights Council in defence of its stance after they advised that a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes would be discriminatory and a violation of human rights.

"It must be noted that the IOC's heavy reliance on the alleged human rights violations is unjustified and without legal merit where the conclusions of the UN Special Rapporteurs are premature and incomplete," said Chesnokov.

Chesnokov insisted that there should be "wider considerations of public safety".

"The safety concerns associated with the potential participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and their supporters are still in place and have even deteriorated as indicated by multiple confrontations of Russian and Ukrainian athletes as well as spread of hate speech and war propaganda by Russian supporters at sporting events,"added Chesnokov.

"Therefore, the interest of organisers of sporting competitions to run them without disruption and the general aim of ensuring safety of all involved including participating athletes in general is a legitimate non-discriminatory measure that takes precedence over the right for Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in such competitions."

In February a group of 35 nations, including Paris 2024 hosts France, urged the IOC to provide greater clarity on a definition of "neutrality" for Russian and Belarusian athletes.

They all signed the collective statement as a result of an International Summit chaired by British Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer.

Speaking at the PACE hearing, Frazer insisted that there were still "far too many unanswered questions".

"There is no reference anywhere in the recommendations to state funding, which I have said is a breach of neutrality," said Frazer.

"The IOC must clarify their position or go back to the drawing board.

"Resolve the issues I have set out today.

"Implement an approach that guarantees only truly neutral athletes can participate."

Xanthaki echoed the concerns which she had expressed in a letter to the IOC in September 2022 and said the recommendations for strict conditions of neutrality were a "step in the good direction".

"The continuing blanket prohibition of Russian and Belarusian athletes on the basis of their nationality violates the principles of universality and non-discrimination, two of the most fundamental human rights principles," said Xanthaki.

"Such a ban confuses states’ behaviours with individuals’ behaviour, something that international human rights law prohibits.

"Punishing individuals solely based on their nationality for the heinous acts of leaders over which they have no control undermines this distinction."

Oudéa-Castéra said that "we cannot disregard the UN principles of non-discrimination of persons on the grounds of their passport".

"France recognises and respects the autonomy of the sports movement and, where the Olympic and Paralympic Games are concerned, it is the IOC and the International Paralympic Committee [IPC] that will take, each in its sphere of responsibility, a sovereign decision concerning the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes," said Oudéa-Castéra.

"But we, the political leaders, have to understand what in concrete terms this model of ‘neutrality’ may mean, and what its viability can be within the context we know.

"The IOC is working on this, and the IPC will be re-examining the question ahead of its General Assembly in September."

Gaby Ahrens, chair of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa Athletes' Commission, and Arsen Julfalakyan, chair of the United World Wrestling Athletes' Commission, also gave their views at the hearing.

"Athletes should never pay the price of a conflict whatever it is and wherever it is," said Ahrens.

"Politics should not put pressure on sport to withdraw from its fundamental values of solidarity and unity."