Vitaly Mutko says Russia has agreed a road map with the IAAF

Vitaly Mutko says he is hopeful Russia will be reinstated by the IAAF before the Olympics

Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko says he is confident that Russian athletes will be able to compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio next summer.

Mutko says that Russia has agreed a road map with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and will be compliant with its rules within three months.

Russia was suspended from global track and field events by the IAAF on Friday following allegations of a vast state-sponsored doping operation.

However, Mutko is confident that the ban will not prove lengthy and said doping in athletics is a global problem in his opinion.

Mutko told Russian television: "In three months, we will once again go to the international federation to present ourselves as compliant with its standards. We hope our team will be reinstated.

"The problem is not Russian athletics, it's a global problem. And, what's more, it started with Russia because we first informed WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) that the International Association of Athletics Federations hid samples for decades.

"These athletes who cheat should be punished but healthy sportsmen, clean sportsmen must be protected."

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

The President of the IAAF, Lord Coe, confirms that they have voted to suspend Russia from all competition.

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) has agreed to oversee changes and says reforms must be implemented as soon as possible so its athletes can compete in Rio, insisting any drug cheats will be "punished".

"The Russian Olympic Committee is ready to take the initiative on reforming [the Russian athletics federation), in accordance with IAAF requirements and anti-doping legislation," ROC president Alexander Zhukov said.

Zhukov made his statement two days after he met in Switzerland with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach.

Zhukov, who is also a senior Russian political figure and ally of president Vladimir Putin, said he was "convinced that the ROC's actions will find support from the IOC, WADA and the IAAF leadership" and he vowed to sanction all those implemented in doping and to protect clean athletes.

Bach responded to Zhukov's statement, by saying: "I welcome the fact that the ROC expressed its firm commitment to protect the clean athletes, and to sanction all the doped athletes and officials.

I welcome the fact that the ROC expressed its firm commitment to protect the clean athletes, and to sanction all the doped athletes and officials.

Thomas Bach

"I appreciated very much the openness of the discussion and welcomed the fact that the Russian Olympic Committee will play the leading role. We are confident that the initiatives being proposed by the ROC, with the responsible international organisations, WADA and the IAAF, will ensure compliance as soon as possible in order to provide participation of the clean Russian athletes at the Olympic Games."  

Meanwhile, the head of the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF) has said the organisation could go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in a bid to overturn the suspension.

ARAF acting president Vadim Zelichenok said Russia is focused on finding "a rational compromise" to have the ban lifted but could appeal to CAS if the IAAF "tells us clearly that it doesn't accept any of our arguments".

He added that lengthy court proceedings might actually reduce Russia's hopes of having the ban lifted in time for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, which are just nine months away.

The Tass news agency is also reporting that Zelichenok is ready to resign from his role to help the sport recover from the scandal.

In another development on Saturday, the European athletics association confirmed that Russia is banned from its competitions following Friday's IAAF vote. The first competition Russia would miss is the European Cross Country Championships in Spain on February 1.