Russia yesterday called into question the veracity of a new report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which accused Russian athletes of still doping, but it promised to facilitate the agency’s work.

Russia is bracing itself for a decision by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) today which could determine whether its athletes can take part in the Rio Olympic Games in August.

In its report, WADA concluded that Russian athletes continued to fail drug tests and obstruct doping control officers.

It was the latest in a long line of setbacks for Russia’s sporting image which have infuriated the Kremlin and drawn allegations from officials of a Western smear campaign against Russia.

“I do not know what these assertions are based on. They need to be thoroughly analysed by our experts,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters yesterday.

“It’s not clear what WADA is basing all this on. There have been allegations (in the past) where WADA has based its results on concrete tests,” he said.

“But what are these (latest) allegations based on?”

The IAAF suspended Russia last year over concerns its athletes were guilty of systematic doping.

Today, it will rule whether Moscow has done enough since then to have the ban reversed.

Peskov declined to say if the Kremlin would consider legal action if the IAAF ruled against Russia, a course of action Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has not ruled out.

Reacting to WADA’s damning report, Mutko said the authorities were ready to assist the agency in testing Russian sports people for doping any way it could.