The Vice-President of the Russian Athletic Federation said on Wednesday (11 November) that she hopes her country's athletes will be allowed to compete despite calls for a ban following doping revelations.

SOUNDBITE (Russian) Tatyana Lebedeva, Vice-President of Russian Athletic Federation:

"I'd very much like to believe that the final decision will be in our favour. Because of the things we've done now, the result is visible. We are hoping that common sense still exists and they'll give us a chance to compete, so that our athletes - who have not been tarnished and are clean - can prove that they can compete at the very highest level under their own steam."

SOUNDBITE (Russian) Tatyana Lebedeva, Vice-President of Russian Athletic Federation:

"On the one hand, you can say that, previously with the KGB and now with the FSB (Federal Security Service of Russia), there is the sort of legacy that people are still scared of, and it still exists. Having said that, I think the accusations are nonsense because I just can't imagine how it's possible. There are new types of tests every day, thousands of them, so to regulate that you need such a big machine, or mechanism, set up. Anyway, there would be various kinds of failures - some people would spread rumours, there's no concrete proof."

SOUNDBITE (Russian) Tatyana Lebedeva, Vice-President of Russian Athletic Federation:

"We were ready and expected this statement from WADA. We were aware of some cases which were solved already. But the call to ban all athletes was a surprise and it was a surprise that the call was so one-sided, only affecting Russia, although scandals are continuing to appear all over the world - in Kenya, in Africa, in Europe. It's a problem shared by all and we should solve it together."