Zhukov, vice-speaker of the State Duma and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, claimed that there was a growing call within the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the ban on Russia imposed after the invasion of Ukraine to be lifted. 

"Our athletes will sooner or later return to international competitions, there is no doubt," Zhukov, who led the ROC from 2010 until 2018, told Match TV.

"I am sure that many members of the IOC sincerely would like our athletes to return. 

"And in general, the Olympic Movement without Russia is inferior.

"We remember the Los Angeles Olympics [in 1984], when our athletes did not participate, you can imagine it, but, of course, it is extremely sad."

Russia’s current suspension from competition follows the World Anti-Doping Agency punishment the country was already serving as a result of state-sponsored doping. 

Russian athletes have competed at the last three Olympic Games - the Winter editions at Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022 and the re-arranged 2020 Summer event at Tokyo last year - under a neutral banner.

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin also warned that his country’s exclusion from international competition could lead to further divisions.

"We have said more than once, and this is confirmed by representatives of other countries and federations, that without Russia the development of world sports is impossible," Matytsin said, also to Match TV.

"And to deprive [Russia of] the right to participate in the Olympic Games, I think it would be a crime and lead to even greater discord within the Olympic Movement."