The event has not been held since 2019, with this year's edition in Yekaterinburg cancelled following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking at the Host City 2022 Conference and Exhibition in Glasgow, Ferriani revealed that he has "a vision" for SportAccord, with a host for next year due to be announced shortly.

This included the Russian, United States and Chinese heads of state attending to share their thoughts on sport.

"We don't fight, we compete," Ferriani, who also holds the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation Presidency, told delegates.

"My dream is one day to have the three big leaders, Biden, Putin and Xi, sitting together speaking about sport, probably you can find some solutions for the biggest problems.

"It is a process that we continue at the forum, but I am sure at the SportAccord next year we will do something very important and new, being together again in person."

Hours after Ferriani laid out his plan to turn the Sportaccord World Sport & Business Summit into the Olympic Movement's "version of Davos", Putin's Russia launched its biggest wave of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities since the start of the war in February. 

Russia fired "around 100 missiles" at cities across the country, according to Yurii Ihnat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force command.

The strikes targeted power infrastructure in several regions of the country, leaving the supply of electricity in a critical condition, according to senior Ukrainian officials.

Putin, who has led Russia since 1999, has faced regular accusations of sportswashing through the country's hosting of major events, including the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

He had the Olympic Order withdrawn by the IOC earlier this year, which formed part of its sanctions against the Russian Government for the invasion of Ukraine, distinct from what it describes as "protective measures" to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from its events.

IOC President Thomas Bach had earlier in the day called for peace, but also warned that if sport becomes "another tool to achieve political goals, international sport will fall apart", addressing the G20 Summit in Bali.

Pressed on his comments about Putin, Ferriani claimed that he considered sport a means to promote dialogue, and referenced the origins of the Ancient Olympic Games.

"Sport has to be away from sport," he said.

"It is a great opportunity to use sport to solve or try to help to solve some problems.

"Remember 2,500 years ago, for two weeks, three weeks or one month, everyone stopped to fight and meet each other there.

"It was not just the fact that it was competing together, but it was the fact that people can talk to each other.

"When you have the war, you have two blocs - one side and the other side.

"Sport can help people to sit together and try to talk.

"We need to try to help the world through sport, and we need to be sure that the politics do not invade sport.

"It is not easy, but we try to use sport as a positive tool in this difficult area."

The other two leaders referenced by Ferriani - Biden and Xi - yesterday held their first in-person meeting since the American President's election in 2020.

They met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, which Putin is absent from.

During his welcome speech to officials at Host City 2022, Cavendish Group chief executive Matthew Astill said that "the lack of face to face interaction between China and the West has been disastrous and created real damage, links are broken and bridges need rebuilding", and "so many misunderstandings have grown into the void of the last few years".