Int'l Paralympic Committee Upholds Suspension of Russia, Worried About Lack of Progress

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th September, 2018) The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Wednesday that it had extended the suspension of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC), urging Moscow and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to boost their efforts to break the stalemate.

"Currently the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) is suspended by the IPC having met 23 of the 26 criteria needed for reinstatement," the IPC said in a statement.

According to the statement, following an IPC governing board meeting in Madrid that concluded on Tuesday, IPC President Andrew Parsons sent letters to Russian sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov as well as WADA President Sir Craig Reedie "to share his Board's frustration at what is seen as a lack of progress in the last six months."

To be fully reinstated, the RPC is required to provide its official response addressing the findings made in a 2016 report by head of WADA's independent commission Richard McLaren on doping violations in Russia, which claimed that they were part of an alleged state-supported doping system.

Moreover, the RPC must pay to the IPC the reimbursement costs which amount to 257,500 Euros ($299,511), and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) must be reinstated by WADA.

"What is stopping the reinstatement however is the lack of a suitable response to the McLaren Report and the stubbornness of Russian authorities to provide access to the Moscow laboratory. This is ultimately preventing the reinstatement of RUSADA by WADA," Parsons said as quoted in the statement.

The RPC was suspended in August 2016.

In early August last year, WADA released a road map to code compliance with 12 criteria, which Russia had to meet before WADA's compliance committee can recommend that RUSADA be reinstated. In November, the WADA panel ruled at a meeting in Seoul that RUSADA remained non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code.