Following the turmoil that has swept the country in recent months, the Ukrainian city of Lviv has pulled out of the race to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

The decision follows talks between the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, Ukrainian prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and the president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, Sergey Bubka.

All parties agreed that Lviv will turn its attention to an Olympic bid for 2026, and not continue with its application for 2022.

The decision leaves Norway’s Oslo, Almaty in Kazakhstan and China’s capital Beijing in the running to host the event.

Stockholm in Sweden and Poland’s Krakow have also both withdrawn.

Lviv’s decision comes as a result of the present political and economic circumstances in Ukraine, which were discussed between the three parties.

“The preliminary evaluation by the IOC’s working group found that the Lviv bid offered huge potential for future development,” said Bach.

“In my discussions with the Ukrainian prime minister and NOC president, we concluded that it would be extremely difficult to pursue the 2022 bid under the current circumstances, but that a future bid would make sense for Ukraine and Ukrainian sport.”