FNATR vice-president Roman Markov claimed that CAS is aiming for the two to reach an agreement by March 3.

On February 3, CAS held a hearing for an FNATR lawsuit against the ETTU which refused to allow Russian athletes and teams to participate in European tournaments.

"In the spring, we filed a lawsuit with the ETTU Appeal Commission to return the right to Russian clubs to finish last season, and it took our side," said FNATR vice-president Roman Markov, as reported by Russian state-run news agency TASS.

"But ETTU ultimately did not follow the recommendation of its commission.

"Then we decided to protect the interests of our athletes who want to continue to perform at international competitions at CAS, where the interests of the FNTR are represented by the law firm SILA International Lawyers, specialising in the consideration of disputes in the sports field.

"And on February 3, after the first part of the court session, both parties were asked to come to an amicable agreement, which, unfortunately, could not be reached on the same day in the courtroom.

"Then the CAS arbitrators suggested that the FNATR and ETTU try to find a compromise before March 3.

"The Table Tennis Federation of Russia today addressed an official letter to the international federation and ETTU, in which it proposed to form a working group and nominate its representatives to try to come to some kind of agreement.

"Now we are waiting for a response from our colleagues."

Last July, the ETTU Executive Committee decided that Russian and Belarusian clubs could not play in the body's events in the next season.

The ETTU claims that the decision was taken in accordance with the International Olympic Committee's recommendations.