Delegates met for the organisation's fall meeting in Sölden, where the first Alpine Skiing World Cup event is taking place, to discuss whether athletes from the two countries would be able to compete.

Michel Vion, the secretary general of the FIS, dropped a hint last month that Russia and Belarus could make a return to international skiing competitions, suggesting they could compete without their national flag and anthem as early as December.

Such a decision would have been against the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has told International Federations to bar Russians and Belarusians outright from competitions.

The FIS explained this was a factor in their decision to prevent Russians and Belarusians competing in its Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, freestyle and snowboard events.

"The FIS Council decided, with due regard to the integrity of FIS competitions and for the safety of all participants, and in line with IOC recommendations, to continue its policy to not allow Russian and Belarusian teams and athletes, to participate in all FIS competitions," a statement from the organisation read.

Pressure on the FIS, around the issue of Russia and Belarus, has mounted in recent weeks.

According to an official FIS document for the Cross-Country World Cup season, a quota of six male and female athletes was given to Russia while Belarus was handed three spots for each gender.

A staff quota was also calculated for both national teams, with Russia being allowed to send 22 team officials and Belarus being permitted to send eight.

The FIS confirmed to insidethegames that these figures were strictly a "planning document" and would not become official until after the FIS Council meeting, provided the countries were allowed to compete.

Triple Beijing 2022 medallist Maja Dahlqvist was among several Swedish cross-country skiers to threaten to boycott the 2023 Nordic World Ski Championships if Russia and Belarus participated.

Last month, the Finnish Ski Federation and Norwegian Ski Federation jointly called for Russian and Belarusian representatives to be banned from future FIS gatherings after they were allowed to attend the autumn meetings.

Norway boycotted the sessions where Russia was present, although Finland did not do this due to fears of growing Russia and Belarus' influence.

Denis Tikhomirov, the President of the Russian Ski Federation, told Russia's official state news agency TASS that they were "ready" for the FIS announcement but criticised the timing of it.

"I think this is an untimely decision," he said.

"It could have been announced earlier.

"Such decisions are made in advance, they are planned in advance, there is a certain agenda, and when athletes enter the season, putting them before a fact is wrong.

"We were ready for this decision."

Yury Borodavko, the head coach of the Russian cross-country skiing team, admitted that they had prepared to travel for the new season, but expressed hope to Russian daily sports newspaper Sport-Express.

"I hope that by next year everything will change, but we don't think far, we'll see," he remarked.

"They said a lot that they would let us through both in the summer and in the fall, we are always ready to play on the international arena, but, unfortunately, it doesn't depend on us.

"We are waiting, there is no other way out."

Russia has been sanctioned by sporting organisations for invading Ukraine while Belarus has been punished for aiding their efforts.

Four Russian-occupied regions in Ukraine have been annexed after staging so-called referendums which have been denounced and dismissed internationally.

The United Nations has reported that at least 6,300 civilians have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale military attack in February, although it fears the true figure is far higher.