Vladimir Putin orders action on doping scandal as Russia scrambles to avoid Olympics ban

Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia must “do everything” to eradicate doping, ordering an inquiry into allegations of major drug abuse in athletics that have left the country facing international isolation.

Moscow is scrambling to respond to the bombshell World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) report, which outlined systematic doping in Russian athletics, declaring that a foreign specialist could take over its discredited testing laboratory.

The athletics world governing body has given Russia until Friday to come up with answers to the allegations, and with the deadline looming Putin met sports chiefs in Sochi, the Black Sea home of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The stakes could not be higher for Russia, which risks being excluded from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio over damning allegations of corruption and “state-sponsored” doping.

“We must do everything in Russia to rid ourselves of this problem,” Putin said in footage shown on Russian television of the meeting - ironically called to discuss the country's preparations for Rio 2016.

“We must carry out our own internal inquiry,” he said, telling sports officials to show “the most open and professional cooperation with international anti-doping authorities”.

“This problem does not exist only in Russia, but if our foreign colleagues have questions, we must answer them,” he said.