ST.PETERSBURG, June 17. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin told the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday the attempts to politicize sports are a "mistake."
"The problem of doping is not only the problem of Russia, this is the problem of the entire sports world," Putin stressed. "If someone tries to politicize something in this area, I believe this is a big mistake," the Russian leader said.
Like the sphere of culture, the sphere of sports cannot be politicized as these are "the bridges that bring people, the whole nations and states together," he said. Putin called not to use sports to build any anti-Russian policy.
"As for Russia’s official authorities, I can tell you with all the responsibility: we are absolutely against any doping," Putin stressed. "At the state level we have been fighting and we will be fighting against doping in sports."
Putin said the Russian Prosecutor-General’s Office and the Investigative Committee are carrying out their own investigation into the facts mentioned in mass media reports. "But one does not simply make a campaign of it and moreover a campaign marring sports, including in Russia," he said.