MOSCOW (Reuters) – A possible ban on Russian athletes in the 2016 Olympics would be because “some wish to remove a direct competitor and some find it beneficial to damage the country’s image”, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told the sports agency R-Sport.

Mutko added that Russian Anti-Doping Agency would be able to prove it acted in line with the rules of a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

(Reporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Jason Bush)