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LONDON (AP)—U.S. and international Olympic leaders have agreed on a key financial issue that has divided the organizations for years and contributed to American isolation from the global Olympic movement.

The USOC and International Olympic Committee said Thursday in a joint statement they had reached an accord on a “significant financial contribution” from the American body to resolve the dispute over administrative costs of staging the games.

Financial terms were not released.

USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun told The Associated Press the agreement was a “milestone” in relationship between the two sides.

The deal clears the way for the two sides to open negotiations on a more substantial long-term revenue-sharing agreement.

“I am pleased that our relationship has progressed to the point where we can begin to make significant headway on a number of issues that have been a point of contention between the USOC and the IOC,” USOC chairman Larry Probst said in a statement.

The deal followed meetings between USOC and IOC delegations last month at the Youth Olympics. Talks began last year in Denver and at the Vancouver Olympics in February.

“The IOC and USOC delegations have pledged to continue working in a constructive manner and in a spirit of good faith and cooperation,” the joint statement said.

The agreement is considered vital to the USOC’s efforts of rebuilding relations with the international Olympic world. The USOC’s troubled standing was illustrated last year when Chicago was eliminated in the first round of voting for the 2016 Games. That followed New York’s humbling defeat in 2005 for the 2012 Olympics.

Crucial to the agreement was the addition of Dow Chemical Co. as a global Olympic sponsorship in a 10-year, multi-million-dollar deal announced in July. The USOC received a share of millions of dollars from the deal, which made it easier to compromise on the games costs.

The games costs—paid by all national Olympic committees—goes toward anti-doping operations, the running of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and other operational matters.

Still pending is the more significant revenue-sharing issue. The sides agreed last year to begin negotiations in 2013 on a new revenue formula to go into effect in 2020, but the games-cost agreement allows them to start those talks as soon as possible.

Currently, the USOC gets a 20-percent share of global sponsorship revenue and a 12.75-percent share of U.S. broadcast rights deals. Many international officials feel the U.S. share is too high—some have even called it “immoral.”

“I am very pleased that we can put the issue of games’ costs behind us for the time being so that we can pursue a broader discussion,” Blackmun said in a statement. “That discussion will be difficult and complicated, but we will be aided by the fact that we can have a constructive dialogue, and that would not have been possible just a few months ago.”

ISTANBUL (AP) —Britain will know by next spring whether its basketball teams will earn a spot in the 2012 London Olympics.

While most Olympic host nations automatically qualify for the games, governing body FIBA wants to see progress in Britain’s basketball programs before giving the men’s and women’s teams places in the 2012 tournament.

“We have always said that Team GB needs to be competitive and we have been impressed by both the performance of the Team GB men and women in qualifying for next year’s EuroBasket,” FIBA secretary-general Patrick Baumann said after a board meeting at the world championships in Istanbul.

“However, our concern is the long-term development of basketball in Great Britain and what the legacy will be for the game once the 2012 Olympics in London are over.”

Baumann is writing to the British federation to specify the steps needed for qualification. A decision on whether the teams qualify will be made early next year, probably in March.

“It is always of value to have the host nation playing in the Olympic basketball tournament and we have no doubt the British public will support the competition,” Baumann said.

The British men’s team is led by Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng. The men’s European Championship will be played in Lithuania in September 2011.

ISTANBUL (AP)—Britain will know by next spring whether its basketball teams will earn a spot in the 2012 London Olympics.

While most Olympic host nations automatically qualify for the games, governing body FIBA wants to see progress in Britain’s basketball programs before giving the men’s and women’s teams places in the 2012 tournament.

“We have always said that Team GB needs to be competitive and we have been impressed by both the performance of the Team GB men and women in qualifying for next year’s EuroBasket,” FIBA secretary-general Patrick Baumann said after a board meeting at the world championships in Istanbul.

“However, our concern is the long-term development of basketball in Great Britain and what the legacy will be for the game once the 2012 Olympics in London are over.”

Baumann is writing to the British federation to specify the steps needed for qualification. A decision on whether the teams qualify will be made early next year, probably in March.

“It is always of value to have the host nation playing in the Olympic basketball tournament and we have no doubt the British public will support the competition,” Baumann said.

The British men’s team is led by Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng. The men’s European Championship will be played in Lithuania in September 2011.