WADA Clarifies Decision To Recommend RUSADA For Reinstatement

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2018) The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) clarified in a press release Saturday its position regarding the Compliance Review Committee's (CRC) recommendation to reinstate the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) in light of the leaked letters between the agency and the Russian sports Ministry.

Earlier on Saturday, the BBC broadcaster released a letter from WADA President Craig Reedie and its Director General Olivier Niggly to Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov, in which WADA proposed a compromise and asked Russia to provide genuine copies of lab data and "raw analytical data" that allowed identifying suspicious doping samples of Russian athletes. According to media reports, the proposal has been supported by the Russian side.

"There is nothing new or concerning in the latest leaked document of an exchange between WADA and the Russian Ministry of Sport. The way in which WADA approached the Ministry was recommended by the Agency's independent CRC at its 14 June 2018 meeting and its content is entirely in line with the RUSADA Roadmap to Compliance first established in January 2017," the press release said.

The press release added that if the CRC recommendation was adopted by the WADA Executive Committee, the rights of RUSADA would be restored. The agency added, at the same time, that the agreed conditions on the delivery of analytical data should be met in due time.

In 2015, WADA accused Russia of multiple doping violations and declared RUSADA non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code.

In August last year, WADA released a road map to code compliance with 12 criteria, which Russia had to meet before the compliance committee could recommend the reinstatement of RUSADA.