The condition has been touted as a potential avenue to facilitate Russia and Belarus' presence at next year's event.

The Refugee Olympic Team competes with the Olympic flag and Olympic hymn used as its symbols.

"This is simply unacceptable," Zhukov said, as reported by Russia's official state news agency TASS.

"They will not be able to destroy Russian sports, it is simply impossible.

"Such demands and attempts can only be dictated by political pressure."

Zhukov served as ROC President from 2010 to 2018 and has previously stated that the Olympics without Russia would be inferior.

Russian athletes have competed at the last three Olympic Games - the Winter editions at Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022 and the re-arranged 2020 Summer event at Tokyo last year - under a neutral banner.

Russia's Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin feels it is an attempt to dismantle sport in the country. 

"First of all, it is necessary to make a legal assessment of these proposals, as far as it relates to both the Olympic Charter and human rights," he said, as reported by TASS.

"Of course, if in the format you are talking about, it means that the international community is pursuing a policy of destroying our national sports system, of course, we cannot agree with this."

Further objections to anything but Russia competing under its flag in Paris are being aired in the nation.

Triple Olympic champion Alexander Karelin claims the restrictions imposed by the International Olympic Committee are humiliating for athletes.

The governing body recommended that individual Russian athletes be welcomed back to international competition as neutrals provided they do not support the war and are not affiliated with the country's military.