Ice hockey president: Russia is missing from the hockey family

Every day we watch the news and hope that things have gotten better, Luc Tardif says, according to the BBC.

But he then adds "because it would mean the World Cup would be a little better."

Separating politics from sport is not always easy, he tells reporters in Milan, but insists that his federation, the IIHF, follows the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee.

We are trying to organize a return, because that is how the IIHF family does it, he says, pointing out that steps are being taken to allow Russian and Belarusian youth teams to compete internationally already.

We want to keep them close to us and organized, so that when the time comes, they are ready to come back into the family.