St. Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi could be candidate cities for a bid, according to reports

Despite the nation's track and field athletes currently being banned from international competition and the doping scandal to have engulfed the country, Russia is said to be considering a bid for the Olympic Games in 2028.

According to the Associated Press, Russian Olympic Committee president Alexander Zhukov told state news agency RIA Novosti that three cities could be candidates for a bid.

"It's hard to say now, but why not?" he said. "I think it's completely possible to try.

"It's not just St. Petersburg, we also have Kazan which is a possibility. It's also possible in Sochi."

While the Russian athletics federation (RusAF) remains suspended as an International Association of Athletics Federations Member, resulting in a continued ban of the nation's athletes from international competition, the International Paralympic Committee extended its own ban to covering Russian athletes from all sports at last summer's Paralympic Games.

Russia hosted the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014 and is due to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018.

By 2021, when the 2028 Olympic Games host is expected to be decided, the situation may have completely changed but earlier this week, given the current climate, a group of 19 National Anti-Doping Associations called for Russia to be removed of the right to host major events.

Russia last hosted the Summer Games in Moscow in 1980.