Russian Olympic Committee proposes backing Russian athletes to attend Winter Olympics - draft

MOSCOW, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The Russian Olympic Committee proposes supporting Russian athletes to attend the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea, according to a draft document seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

Most Russian athletes want to go to the Games even though they would have to compete as neutrals, an official of the country's Olympic committee said on Monday.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) last week banned Russia from the Games due to take place in Pyeongchang in February, citing evidence of an "unprecedented systematic manipulation" of the anti-doping system. (Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; editing by Katya Golubkova)