The Kremlin on Tuesday dismissed allegations from the World Anti-Doping Agency that Russian athletes were guilty of using banned performance-enhancing substances on a large-scale, saying the assertions were groundless.
"Until some evidence is presented ... it is difficult to accept these accusations, they are quite groundless," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Australian Olympic team chef de mission Kitty Chiller is pinning her hopes on new world athletics (IAAF) boss Sebastian Coe having the guts to ensure the disgraced Russian track and field squad is absent from next year's Rio Games.
An independent commission set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency has recommended the Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) be banned from the sport after widespread doping offences and systematic failures.
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Russia has until Friday to respond to the report, which called for the ARAF to be declared "non-compliant" with globally agreed doping regulations.
Any such ban imposed by the IAAF would almost certainly include the 2016 Olympics, with Athletics Australia CEO Phil Jones saying Russia would likely not have the time to clean up its act.
Jones also wants Russia stripped of the right to host next year's world junior championships in Kazan and the world race walking cup in Cheksobary.
Chiller was putting a great deal of faith in Coe, the two-time Olympic 1500m champion who recently succeeded Lamine Diack as IAAF president.
Diack is under investigation by French police for allegedly receiving more than one million euros ($A1.53 million) to cover up doping of Russian athletes.
"Poor old Seb, he's only been in the job a few weeks and he's got a huge task ahead of him," said Chiller.
