The country's Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko met yesterday with Russian athletes hoping to compete at this year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, despite the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF) remaining suspended from competition by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

The team will not be able to compete at Rio 2016 unless this ban is lifted.

IAAF President Sebastian Coe is under growing pressure to keep the suspension in place until after the Olympics following the publication of the second part of the WADA Independent Commission report in Munich last week.

It is alleged that a systemic state-supported doping programme was in place across Russian athletics in recent years and that a cabal of IAAF officials linked to former President Lamine Diack engaged in an extortion plot, accepting bribes in return for positive tests being covered up.

WADA had declared Russia non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code at a Foundation Board meeting in Colorado Springs last November shortly after the publication of Pound's first report. 

An inspection team from WADA has recently visited Moscow and were joined by a delegation from UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), who are providing assistance with the testing regime.

"Contractual discussions are still ongoing and once agreed UKAD’s involvement aims to ensure that targeted and intelligence-led testing is carried out in Russia throughout this period," said a WADA statement.

"Separately, WADA will be working directly with the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), assisting the agency in its efforts to regain code compliance.

"As part of this initiative, WADA is also appointing two international experts who will oversee RUSADA’s code compliance operations.

"WADA has also requested that an independent international expert joins the newly-formed RUSADA Board."

WADA does not have the right to directly ban or impose further punishments on countries deemed non-compliant, merely having the ability to report the declarations to the Sports Movement and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

Their verdict can influence the decisions of other bodies, however, like the IAAF and the International Olympic Committee.

"There is much work to be done if RUSADA is to become compliant again," said WADA director general David Howman.

"By appointing independent international experts, WADA will be able to monitor the situation and determine when requirements will have been met that will protect the rights of clean athletes worldwide; and, help re-establish public confidence in the Russian anti-doping programme."

Optimism remains high, though, in Russia that the IAAF ban will be lifted in time for them to compete at Rio 2016. 

Russia had finished second on the athletics medal table at London 2012 behind the United States, winning a total of 17 medals, including eight gold.

That figure could be affected, however, by a number of Russian medallists from those Games currently facing bans.

These include four gold medallists. 

Mutko met the athletes at the Novogorsk training center near Moscow, where he talked with some of the country's top stars, as well as Yury Borzakovskiy, winner of the Olympic gold medal in the 800 metres at Athens 2004, who is now the head coach. 

Earlier, Mutko had claimed he "cannot imagine" the Olympics taking place without his country's athletics team and that between 60 and 70 athletes are "systematically training for the Games".

"All of the athletes are in good mood," Borzakovskiy told news agency TASS after the meeting.

Newly elected ARAF President Dmitry Shlyakhtin also attended the event.

"We are currently holding winter Grand Prix competitions," added Borzakovskiy.

"We already held two out of the total nine.

"The final will be held within the frames of the Russian Championship.

"As we have already stated the winter season [competitions] will be held on the territory of Russia."