The group which has been charged with "proposing safeguards to prevent the participation of Russia and other countries involved in armed aggression against Ukraine," includes six members drawn from sport, Olympic law and diplomatic relations, among them a former Czech Ambassador to Russia.

"Sport is supposed to be independent of politics, but it remains part of this world and bears responsibility for it along with all of us," the 74-year-old Žantovský said.

A former Czech Ambassador to the United States, Israel and United Kingdom, Žantovský had been involved in Czech Olympic preparations for Atlanta 1996, Vancouver 2010 and Lodon 2012.

"Russian aggression against Ukraine is in stark contradiction to the second principle of Olympism, which is to create a peaceful society that cares about preserving human dignity," he said.

"Therefore, it is unthinkable for Russia to participate in the Olympics, if the aggression continues, the same must apply to Belarus, as the state from whose territory a substantial part of this aggression began, and to all athletes who approve, support or do not condemn such aggression."

The group was founded on the initiative of ČOV President Jiří Kejval and is set to meet later this month, although members have already been in contact.

"The Czech Olympic Committee is clearly against the participation of Russia and Belarus in the Olympic Games in Paris 2024," Kevjal, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said. 

"It supports the still valid sanctions, according to which Russian and Belarusian athletes cannot participate in sports competitions.

"We are not experts in international politics, which is why we approached these personalities to help us design safeguards that will prevent totalitarian regimes from abusing the Olympic Games for their promotion."

The ČOV group includes Petr Kolář, a former Czech Republic Ambassador to Russia and ex-Deputy Minister of Foreign affairs, and Martin Smolek, a Government representative at the European Court of justice.

Other members include the 2008 Olympic air rifle gold medallist Kateřina Emmons, lawyer Marek Procházka, a specialist in ethics and dispute resolution, and Senator Jiří Růžička.

"We are convinced that we can solve the situation only through legal and diplomatic steps," Kejval said.

"We regularly inform the International Olympic Committee about our activities, the goal is for the group to prepare its proposals completely independently and then submit them directly to the IOC," 

"We are also in contact with or monitoring the activities of other national European Olympic Committees who perceive the situation in the same way as we do.

"We also value the fact that our actions coincide with the position of the National Sports Agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the political representation of the Czech Republic."

The Czech Senate had voted by 67 to 63 that the ČOV should not encourage the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at next year's Olympic Games in Paris.

They had also called upon athletes from the two countries to be banned from participation in the qualifying competitions for Paris 2024.