Russia's matches at a qualifier for the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup have been moved from the United States to Puerto Rico because the country's COVID-19 vaccine is not recognised by the World Health Organization ©Getty Images

Russia's match against the United States at next month's qualifier for the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup has been cancelled and the country's other two matches moved to Dominican Republic because the US does not recognise its COVID-19 vaccine.

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) revealed that Russia's games against Belgium and Puerto Rico would be held in Santo Domingo instead of Washington D.C., which had been set to host the entire qualification tournament.

FIBA also confirmed Russia's scheduled match with the US would not take place.

Washington D.C. will stage three games from February 10 to 12, while the matches involving Russia will be played on February 13 and 14.

The Russian team would be unable to travel to the American capital as the US requires all entrants to the country to have received a vaccine recognised by the World Health Organization.

Russia's COVID-19 vaccine Stupnik not being recognised has already prevented athletes in other sports, such as freestyle skiing, from competing at events in the US.

The FIBA Executive Committee claimed it had made the decision to switch the venue for Russia's games "in order to ensure a fair chance for each team to qualify".

The top three teams at the event in Washington D.C. and Santo Domingo will qualify for the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup in Sydney, due to take place from September 22 to October 1.

Qualification competitions are also scheduled to take place in Serbian capital Belgrade and the Japanese city Osaka.

There are no changes to the format for the other qualifiers.