India, July 3 -- Greenland and the Faroe Islands will not be recognised as separate and independent Olympic teams despite a request from Denmark's parliament, the IOC said Wednesday.

The Olympic Charter has for 30 years defined a country that can have an official team as "an independent state recognized by the international community."

Greenland and the Faroe Islands - which are semi-autonomous territories in the kingdom of Denmark - do not meet that standard, the International Olympic Committee said in a statement. "This position has been explained and communicated very clearly to the concerned parties on numerous occasions over the past years," the IOC said.

The formal request by the Danish parliament was made two weeks ago and publi...