Australia backs calls to ban Russia from Olympics

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia has backed the World Anti-Doping Agency's recommendation that Russia be banned from international athletics, including the 2016 Olympics, after a report alleged systematic state-backed cheating.

Athletics Australia chief executive Phil Jones said on Tuesday there was not enough time for Russia to prove itself clean before next year's Games in Rio de Janeiro.

"The runway clearly is very short to address all the issues that the report calls out," he told state radio broadcaster ABC.

"I think given the time between now and the Rio Olympics, it's very difficult to see that their house is going to be demonstrably in order by the middle of next year."

(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Tony Jimenez)