An ongoing suspension of the Russian athletics team is "unlikely" to be overturned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in order to allow athletes to participate at Rio 2016, according to the body's vice-president John Coates.
Coates, seen as a close ally of IOC President Thomas Bach, said he would be "very, very surprised" if the IOC overturned the decision of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
"It's an International Federation's right to suspend a National Federation and I don't think we would overturn that at all," he said.
The Australian, who has described the Russian testing system as "rotten to the core", also welcomed similar investigations now taking place within other sports.
This comes after the IAAF Council decided unanimously yesterday against lifting the ban due to a Russian failure to meet criteria required by the body's Task Force.
Only Russians who can prove they have been operating in an "effective testing system" will be permitted to compete as independent athletes - with this essentially meaning only those who have been based outside of the country.
The IOC have generally been seen as opposed to the suspension, partly to provide all countries with a right to participate and partly in order to maintain their close political relations with Russia.
An Olympic Stakeholders Summit is due to be held in Lausanne on Tuesday (June 21) with the aim of finding a compromise between "collective responsibility and individual justice".