MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/. The Independent Anti-Doping Commission headed by Vitaly Smirnov significantly contributed to the reinstatement of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) President Stanislav Pozdnyakov told reporters.

"This decision was very important for our country as it paves the way for the reinstatement of a number of our sports federations, which have been suspended," he said. "And we already have a positive example - the Russian Weightlifting Federation. The most important thing that has been discussed today concerns the activities of the Independent Anti-Doping Commission headed by Vitaly Smirnov. RUSADA’s reinstatement is one of the results the Commission has been able to achieve," the ROC president pointed out.

The Independent Anti-Doping Commission was established in the summer of 2016 and developed the first ever national plan to fight against doping.

On September 20, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Executive Committee decided to reinstate RUSADA on condition that WADA would be granted access to the Moscow laboratory, sealed for a federal investigation. WADA also expects Russia to provide all suspicious samples from the laboratory for retesting until June 30, 2019. If Russia fails to fulfill WADA’s conditions, RUSADA will be once again declared non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code.