The idea was included in a declaration published after the first Athletes for Peace and Freedom Conference in Estonia's capital Tallinn.

A number of athletes from Ukraine were involved with the event, alongside several from the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation which was formed to fight against oppression and violence from the regime in their country.

The declaration also says it "reserves the right" to campaign for Belarusian athletes who meet reinstatement criteria to be able to compete using the country's white-red-white flag.

The flag, replaced after a 1995 referendum, has become a symbol of Belarusian resistance against the authoritative regime of President Alexander Lukashenko.

In April, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that individual Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to return to competition, if they are not openly in support of the invasion of Ukraine or affiliated to the military.

This relaxed the stance the IOC put forward when Vladimir Putin launched the invasion in February 2022, which called for an outright ban.

A number of sports have adopted the new IOC guidelines and announced pathways for Russian and Belarusian athletes to return.

The declaration following the Conference also calls on the IOC to take "exhaustive measures" to prevent sport from "being used to promote war and war crimes".

It says that Russian and Belarusian athletes should sign anti-war documents and should not use funding from their Governments.

The declaration agrees with the IOC that athletes associated with the military should not compete, and that anyone cleared can only participate as an independent neutral.

But it also says that Ukraine should be allowed to boycott, including a collective boycott, should eligibility criteria for Russian and Belarusians not become "stricter and more specific".

The IOC is also urged to recognise the situation in Ukraine as a "war" and not a "conflict".

Other areas where the declaration "reserves the right" to act include calling for a broad international boycott and convincing the IOC's sponsors to withdraw their support.

Countries including the United States, Finland, Estonia and Ireland were also represented at the conference.

It was described as an "unprecedented international sports platform, providing a forum for professional sport representatives to convene and deliberate on how athletes and modern sports can leverage their potential to promote the ideals of peace and freedom". 

The gathering aimed to "inspire positive changes in our global society".