On Friday, the IOC, led by German Thomas Bach, gave Russians and Belarusians the green light to compete as neutrals at next year's Paris Games, outside team events and provided they did not actively support the war on Ukraine.

Faeser, who is also interior minister, said in a press release: "The warmonger Putin must not be allowed to use the Paris Olympics for his propaganda.”

"That the Russian teams remain excluded and that flags and symbols are banned is the minimum we can expect from the IOC.”

In March, the IOC had recommended that international federations reinstate Russian and Belarusian athletes as individuals, under a neutral flag, on condition that they did not support the war sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and that they did not have a contract with the army or national security agencies.

"It's now up to the International Olympic Committee and the international federations to look very closely at whether individual Russian and Belarusian athletes should be banned if they've supported the Russian war of aggression in any way, or if they're connected to the Russian government or the Russian army in any way whatsoever," Faeser said.

According to the IOC, 11 athletes - eight Russians and three Belarusians - have so far qualified on the basis of the neutrality criteria, which Moscow considers to be "discriminatory".