MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/. The Russian Football Union (RFU) maintains contact with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the world’s governing football body, FIFA, regarding the Russian national team’s participation in international events, the RFU press office told TASS on Wednesday.

"The solution to this complex problem [the admission of Russian clubs and national teams] is obvious. Negotiations are underway," the press office stated.

"An official announcement will be released as soon as concrete decisions are made and further steps are determined in this regard," the RFU’s statement added.

Speaking earlier in the day at the UEFA Congress in Portugal’s Lisbon, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said that the issue of Russia’s future participation in football tournaments would be complicated by the country’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) barred Russian clubs and teams on February 28, 2022 from participating in international competitions due to the situation around Ukraine.

Since then, the Russian national football team has played five friendly matches, against Iran (1-1), Iraq (2-0), Kyrgyzstan (2-1), Tajikistan (0-0) and Uzbekistan (0-0).

Russian Football Union President Alexander Dyukov announced in late November 2022 that, in light of the barring of Russia’s national teams and football clubs from UEFA and FIFA competitions, the RFU was looking at joining the Asian Football Confederation.