KRASNOYARSK, March 1. /TASS/. Russia should heed WADA’s requests, because the current anti-doping system in the country has failed, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on the preparations for the 2019 World Winter Universiade.
"The most important thing is that we heed the demands of the independent [McLaren] commission despite its drawbacks, because we need to admit that some cases of doping have really been detected, as doping is completely unacceptable. This means that the current Russian anti-doping system has failed, and this is our fault," Putin stressed.
He also mentioned the latest assessments made by WADA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials who had questioned the McLaren report on the use of doping by Russian athletes. "It seems, either the translation was not quite correct or there is not enough evidence," the president noted.
"We don’t accept allegations about some scratches on sample bottles for evidence, because when they were submitted, no one protested. If they saw any scratches, they should have mentioned it in their protocols, but it was not done. It means, the bottles have been stored somewhere but we are not responsible for the storage," the Russian leader emphasized.
He reiterated that "there has never been any institutional conspiracy to conceal positive doping tests in Russia and there never will be, on the contrary, doping will only be fought against."
"I expect the Investigative Committee to conclude the relevant investigation and find those responsible," Putin added.
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