Russia's national governing body has considered transferring its affiliation to the Asian Football Confederation, but that proposal was shelved, and it instead sought the creation of a working group to discuss a return to UEFA competitions.

It has been reported that an initial meeting between RFU and UEFA officials has taken place, with further talks planned next month.

"The working meeting of the RFU and UEFA has ended," Russian official state news agency TASS quoted the RFU.

"The key topic was the need to return Russian teams and clubs to international competitions.

"The parties agreed on the procedure for further interaction and agreed to continue contacts.

"The next face-to-face meeting with the participation of representatives of the RFU and UEFA will take place in February."

The RFU was represented by its general secretary Maxim Mitrofanov and vice-president Alexander Alaev according to TASS, while UEFA has not revealed its officials who took part.

RFU Honorary President Vyacheslav Koloskov claimed to TASS that the meeting was "very encouraging", and "suggests that UEFA is interested in solving this problem".

British broadcasteer Sky News, however, reported that the short-term prospect of a Russian return is remote because of the full-scale war in Ukraine that began last February, and UEFA sought to use the meeting for a more general discussion on Russian football and prepare for a potential return of its teams to its competitions if the war ends.

This year's UEFA Super Cup between the winners of the Champions League and Europa League remains scheduled to take place in Kazan on August 16, but Sky News reports that the Russian city is expected to be stripped of the match.

insidethegames has asked UEFA for a comment on its talks with the RFU.

RFU President Alexander Dyukov is set to attend a UEFA Executive Committee meeting scheduled for today.

UEFA and FIFA suspended Russia's national teams and clubs from its competitions in February last year in line with International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommendations.

This barred it from the Women's European Championship in England and qualification playoffs for the men's World Cup in Qatar, and Saint Petersburg was also stripped of its right to host the Champions League final, with last year's match moved to Paris.

These measures were upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and Russia has since been excluded from qualification for the men's Euro 2024.

Russian and Belarusian officials have retained their positions at FIFA and UEFA, however, and Russia's men's national team have played friendly matches against Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan since the invasion of Ukraine.

Football's governing bodies have also taken the unusual stance of permitting Belarus - who have never qualified for a major tournament - to continue playing with its home matches at neutral grounds and behind closed doors.

The IOC's recommendations cover Russia and Belarus, although it has entertained a proposal for both countries' athletes to compete as neutrals at Asian qualifying events for next year's Olympic Games in Paris.