Latvia warned the IIHF it would consider withdrawing unless the governing body allowed the country to jointly stage the tournament with a nation other than Belarus.

Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš claimed he could not see how Latvia could co-host the event with Belarus in the current climate, following widespread protests and violence in the country after Alexander Lukashenko's controversial re-election as President.

The IIHF Council will meet in mid-September to discuss the situation, as reported by Russian state news agency TASS. 

IIHF President René Fasel had previously insisted the governing body will press ahead with plans to hold the 2021 Men's World Championship – the flagship international ice hockey tournament outside of the Winter Olympic Games – in Belarus and Latvia.

Fasel also said there had not been any discussions over moving to other venues and no approaches from other nations willing to host.

Belarus is due to stage matches in 2021 at Minsk Arena, alongside co-hosts Latvia, which plans to use Arena Riga.

Each city will host one group and two quarter-final games, with both semi-finals and the medal games due to be played in Minsk.

Protests in Belarus have continued since the disputed August 9 election, where Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, supposedly won with 80 per cent of the vote. 

The European Union is among those to have condemned the election, stating it was "neither free nor fair."

An opposition rally, reportedly the "largest in the history of independent Belarus", was held in Minsk last week.

Protesters have clashed with police and more than 6,000 have been arrested, with some claiming they have been tortured at the hands of the security services.

Belarus has been described as "Europe's last dictatorship" because of Lukashenko's lengthy spell in power.