Fasel and IIHF secretary general Horst Lichtner had been due to meet Lukashenko today to discuss concerns surrounding the country's co-hosting of the 2021 IIHF World Championship, amid the Belarus Government's heavy-handed crackdown on protestors against his regime.

Both have now tested positive for COVID-19, however.

Lukashenko was yesterday banned from attending the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games under a series of provisional measures imposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus (NOCRB), which he has led for 23 years.

The IOC found Lukashenko and other senior members of the NOCRB "had not appropriately protected the Belarusian athletes from political discrimination within the NOC, their member sports federations or the sports movement" following allegations athletes had been beaten, tortured and arrested for speaking out against Lukashenko.

Belarusian Ice Hockey Association President and NOCRB Board member Dmitri Baskov was also provisionally sanctioned with a Tokyo 2020 ban by the IOC as he is considered a suspect in an attack on artist Raman Bandarenka, who later died in hospital, during a peaceful protest in Belarus.

The IOC told International Federations to adhere to the measures "in the interest of protecting Belarusian athletes' rights and the reputation of the Olympic Movement", plunging Belarus' co-hosting of the IIHF World Championship with Latvia next year into further doubt.

But Fasel, a former IOC Executive Board member, told Russia's official state news agency TASS that the IOC "cannot influence in any way" its decision on the World Championship, claiming the IIHF "does not want to be hostages of political games".

"We are closely watching the situation," Fasel said.

"Our goal is to hold the tournament in Belarus, we want to do it for the fans who deserve it, and we should not allow ourselves to be under pressure from politics and do not want to be hostages of political games. 

"Safety and health of the tournament participants and viewers are our priority and we have a fairly transparent discussion with the local authorities.

"The time will come to make the very last final decision, whether to postpone the tournament or not, but our goal is to go to Belarus. 

"I hope that over time the situation will calm down and the Belarusian authorities will find a way out of the current situation.

"We left time to make a decision. 

"We have close contact with the Latvian and Belarusian organisers. 

"We are planning to go to Belarus to talk to people there. 

"We wanted to go there this week, but the virus did not allow us to do this, and we will talk as soon as we go to Belarus."

In a statement, Fasel said safety concerns that are "affecting preparations for the tournament" and the allegations against Baskov were among the items on the agenda for the meeting with Lukashenko.

It had been reported last month that the IIHF, under pressure to strip Belarus of its co-hosting rights, was considering moving the World Championship to Moscow.

Latvia has threatened to withdraw as co-host due to ethical and security concerns amid the widespread protests following Lukashenko's re-election in August, which critics claim was neither free nor fair.

The Belarus Sports Solidarity Foundation, which has helped the IOC with its investigation and first raised the allegations regarding the NOCRB, had previously called for Baskov to be banned for life for his alleged involvement in the death of Bandarenka.