International Olympic Committee (IOC) chairman Thomas Bach has said that he is "confident" that clean athletes from the Russian Federation will be able to compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro next year.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Council ruled yesterday to provisionally suspend Russia from international competitions after allegations of doping, but Bach believes that any athletes proven to be clean will be cleared to compete in Rio.
"We are confident that the initiatives being proposed by the ROC [Russian Olympic Committee], with the responsible international organisations - Wada [World Anti-Doping Agency] and the IAAF - will ensure compliance as soon as possible in order to provide participation of the clean Russian athletes at the Olympic Games," Bach is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
A statement released by Wada has said that the ban for Russian athletes "is positive news for clean athletes worldwide".
