But even if the step forward at which Task Force chair Rune Andersen hinted following the last Council meeting in November comes to pass, it is unlikely to alter the current position in which Russian and Belarusian athletes are barred from World Athletics competition while the invasion of Ukraine continues.

Andersen told a post-Council press conference on November 30 that "the Taskforce expects to be in a position by March 2023 to make a final recommendation to Council on the reinstatement of RusAF" - although this was subject to several conditions which he went on to explain.

He added that there was "a new culture of good governance and zero tolerance for doping throughout the organisation."

But World Athletics President Sebastian Coe swiftly added that, independent of the Taskforce ruling, Russia and Belarus athletes and officials would continue to be banned from the federation's events while the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued.

Last Wednesday (March 15) the European Athletics Council reaffirmed its position that athletes from Russia and Belarus should remain banned from its events and activities until the war in Ukraine comes to an end.

It would be surprising for the European Athletics to come out so strongly in renewed support of this stance if it were to prove at variance with the position taken by the world governing body a week later.

Other topics for discussion by the Council will include the issues concerning athletes with Differences of Sexual Development (DSD) and trans athletes, and a significant statement is expected regarding feedback gathered over recent proposals.

"As we have always said all regulations are subject to review at any time. In terms of including our female eligibility regulations, we will follow the science, and more than a decade of research we have in the DSD area, in order to protect the female category, maintain fairness in our competitions and remain as inclusive as possible," a recent World Athletics statement read.

"In reviewing a number of new and existing studies and observations from the field we put forward a preferred option for consultation with our Member Federations. 

"After we received their feedback at the end of January, we consulted, in a targeted way, more widely.

"The option we took to consultation was to amend both the transgender and DSD female eligibility regulations to provide for a continuous reduction of serum testosterone level below 2.5 nmol/L for at least 24 months.

"Putting forward a preferred option was the best way to gather constructive feedback but this does not mean this is the option that will be presented to Council or indeed adopted.”

Other topics to be considered will include amendments to competition rules and the announcement of host cities for future World Athletics Series events.