MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/. Russia, after the termination of its membership in the Council of Europe in March 2022, should not be subject to the previous criteria for how the size of its mandatory annual contribution to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is determined, the press service of the Russian Sports Ministry told TASS.

It was reported earlier that Russia has not yet paid its contribution for 2023. The country was expected to pay $1,267,023.

"The Russian Federation is a party to the International Convention against Doping in Sport (UNESCO Convention) and supports the principle of equal financing of the main annual budget of the World Anti-Doping Agency," the press service said. "Currently, there is no common formula for WADA funding approved by the states. The agency's annual budget is formed on the basis of the 2003 Copenhagen Anti-Doping Declaration, which has no legal binding on states. At the same time, each continent independently determines how payments are made."

In Europe, countries pay into the WADA fund based on how much they contribute to the budget of the Council of Europe. "According to the decision of the WADA Executive Committee in 2023, Russia’s annual contribution should amount to $1,267,023. This figure is calculated on the basis of the scale of the country's contributions to the Council of Europe, while Russia terminated its membership in the council on March 16, 2022. In this regard, it is necessary to work out a mechanism to pay the annual contribution to WADA for countries that are not members of continental organizations, in particular, the Council of Europe," the press service pointed out.

According to it, the Russian Sports Ministry has brought to the fore the issue of working out a universal formula for financing WADA at the UNESCO Convention. The issue will be considered on October 25-27, 2023 in France. The Russian side hopes that the meeting will result in a decision on a single approach. Only then will the country pay the annual contribution.

According to documents from the World Anti-Doping Agency obtained by TASS, eight countries pay WADA an annual contribution exceeding $1 million. Russia, the UK, Germany, Italy and France had to pay $1,267,023 in 2023. The US ($3,419,795), Canada ($1,709,897) and Japan ($1,502,800) are expected to make the largest contributions to WADA's budget in 2023. According to available documents, all of these countries, except Russia, have already paid their dues in full for 2023.

Russia paid its contribution to the WADA budget for last year in January 2022 and for 2021 in April of the same year. Veronika Loginova, director general of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), told TASS in December 2022 that annual contributions to WADA are not paid by RUSADA, but by the Russian Sports Ministry.