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 But the comments from the International Association of Athletics
Federations incensed the Russian sports minister, who insisted that
the country had done enough to meet the association's anti-doping
standards.
Missing the Olympics would be a humiliating blow for Russia, where
sporting success is seen as integral to national pride. The country
came second to the United States in the track and field medal table
at the London Olympics in 2012.
Norwegian Rune Andersen, heading a five-person international task
force reviewing Russia's reforms after its suspension from global
competition in November, said its athletics had made "significant
progress", including changing its president and council and
developing anti-doping educational programmes.
"However, the view of the task force is that there is significant
work still to be done to satisfy the reinstatement conditions," he
told a news conference after a Monaco meeting of the Council of the
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
"We still need to interview athletes and coaches named in the WADA
(World Anti-Doping Agency) commission report to understand the scope
and nature of previous doping activities."
IAAF president Sebastian Coe, whose first year in office has
involved a comprehensive shakeup of athletics to eradicate
corruption and doping, suggested a final decision would be taken at
a council meeting in May.
"You should conclude that these decisions will be taken at that
point," Coe said.
"There were no preordained outcomes today. We wanted to hear what
Rune and the team had to say and we were unanimously satisfied that
more work needed to be done before we could ultimately make a
decision," he said.
"The job of the Council is to make sure that those athletes who are
going to the Olympics are clean and are in systems that are based
upon integrity."
It was the report of the WADA commission which led to the suspension
of Russia, which traditionally battles with the United States to be
the sport's dominant force, and investigations into broader
corruption affecting also the administration of the sport.
Coe and Andersen expressed concern about a documentary on German TV
channel ARD last week that said Russia had made little progress on
reform, that coaches banned for doping were still operating in the
country and officials newly-installed as part of the clean-up were
tipping off athletes ahead of drugs tests.
"We discussed the contents of that programme and the task force
member are very concerned and investigating further," Coe told
Reuters.
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Russian IAAF Council member Mikhail Butov said his country had
worked hard over the last four months but accepted there was still
much to be done.
"We have changed many of the personnel and followed the
recommendations," he told Reuters. "We are working hard to educate
coaches and athletes, but it takes time."
Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, however, insisted that Russia had done
enough to be reinstated, adding that it had not been made clear
exactly what it still had to do to satisfy the IAAF.
"You say we should elect new leadership for the athletics federation
- OK, we've done that. You should not elect anyone to be the leader
who has done this or that - OK, we did that," he said.
"There are no criteria. What should Russian athletics do? Dance on
the table? Sing a song?"
Coe said five other countries - Ethiopia, Morocco, Kenya, Ukraine
and Belarus - had been listed as in "critical care" over their
anti-doping arrangements, although none of them were at risk of
immediate ban or missing the Olympics.
Coe also told Reuters that Russia's doped
runner-turned-whistleblower Yulia Stepanova could still be allowed
to compete at the Rio Games under an IOC flag but that her situation
was complex.
Stepanova, an 800-metres runner, provided evidence of widespread
doping that contributed to its ban and WADA said this week it would
ask the IOC and IAAF to allow "a courageous athlete" to compete as
an independent.
"I'm really happy for that issue to be discussed again and that we
properly understand the details, legal and logistic, of her
eligibility to compete," Coe said.
(Editing by Ralph Boulton and Dominic Evans)
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