“This is about the politicisation of this issue in order to squeeze Russia out. There is a term for such a thing: unfair competition,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing in Moscow.

The compliance review committee at the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) on Monday recommended a four-year sporting ban over falsified lab data it received from Russia.

If Wada chiefs adopt the committee’s recommendations at a meeting in Paris on December 9, Russia faces exclusion from key sporting events including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“For years we have seen an alliance, a lobby that wants… to exclude Russia from the global sporting world,” Zakharova said.

“The issue of doping… focuses exclusively on Russia, the problems of other countries are not discussed at all.”