MOSCOW -- The Russian government has begun fighting accusations that the country operated a vast state-sponsored doping program, even as the first punishment was handed down Tuesday.
A report Monday by a commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency accused Russia of widespread, state-sponsored doping and cover-ups by sports officials and track and field athletes, including Olympic medalists. It said that agents from the FSB intelligence service interfered with the work of a doping lab during last year's Winter Olympics in the Russian resort of Sochi.
As a result, President Vladimir Putin will meet with Russian track federation head coach Yuri Borzakovsky, a former Olympic 800-meter champion, at a sports center in Sochi on Wednesday.
Putin's spokesman said the allegations detailed in the commission's report are not supported by evidence, while an increasing number of senior officials hinted at a conspiracy to vilify Russian sports.
"As long as there is no evidence, it is difficult to consider the accusations, which appear rather unfounded," Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Because of the report, Russia has been threatened with suspension from track and field competitions, including next year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The IOC said in a statement that it trusts the IAAF and new president Sebastian Coe to "take all the necessary measures" regarding possible suspensions as Coe gave the Russian federation until the end of the week to respond to the WADA allegations.
''This is a deeply shocking report and very saddening for the world of sport," the IOC statement said. "The IOC trusts that the new leadership of the IAAF... will draw all the necessary conclusions and will take all the necessary measures.
''The IOC will also carefully study the report with regard to the Olympic Games. If any infringements on the anti-doping rules by athletes and or their entourage should be established, the IOC will react with its usual zero tolerance policy."
In the first move to implement a recommendation made in Monday's report, WADA revoked the accreditation of the country's anti-doping lab in Moscow. That blocks all testing of samples, which will now be transported to another WADA-accredited lab outside Russia.
Hours later, lab director Grigory Rodchenkov resigned, according to state news agency Tass.
The WADA commission says tests were routinely falsified at the lab to protect top Russian athletes. The Moscow-based lab handled drug samples from the Sochi Olympics.
Nikita Kamaev, executive director of the Russian anti-doping agency known as RUSADA, said Tuesday that Rodchenkov's lab had "ceased functioning" but said RUSADA is still operational.
"The Russian agency completely complies with the requirements of WADA at the current time," Kamaev said, adding that the agency is preparing a detailed response to all issues raised against it in the WADA report.
The Russian agency faces possible suspension by WADA after the report, which accused it of numerous failures in its testing program, including notifying athletes ahead of time for supposedly surprise tests, colluding with coaches and allowing some banned athletes to continue competing.
Kamaev is one of a number of Russian officials to say the report is biased against Russia.
"Some of the issues have a particular acuteness and are, if you like, politicized," he said, refusing to go into further detail.
Allegations that FSB agents infiltrated the testing process are the product of an "inflamed imagination" and more suited to a spy film, Kamaev added.
Earlier in the day, the acting head of the Russian track federation, Vadim Zelichenok, said in comments quoted by Russian media that the report contains "an element of material made to order," without specifying who might have manipulated the report.
Zelichenok also appealed to the sport's governing body to show "prudence" and allow Russian track and field athletes to compete at next year's Olympics.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.