MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On Wednesday, WADA published a roadmap to code compliance outlining "reinstatement criteria" that Russia’s body Rusada still has to meet. The agency said 12 criteria, including public acceptance of the McLaren report, were to be fulfilled before WADA’s independent Compliance Review Committee can recommend Rusada to be declared compliant again with the World Anti-Doping Code.
"As far as McLaren is concerned, we have repeatedly said that we overall did not deny and accepted that we have certain issues with doping … As far as the report is concerned, we have reiterated that it contained certain controversial positions and provisions. Representatives of our sports organizations have spoken also. Nobody will accept this report unconditionally," Smirnov told R-Sport.
One of the remaining reinstatement criteria suggests that Russia should facilitate the access to the test samples in Moscow laboratory that were sealed off because of the federal investigation, but the anti-doping commission chief explained that the ongoing probe made that demand impossible.
"They [WADA] know, and we have explained to them many times that the samples are sealed, they are part of the work that the relevant investigative bodies are conducting… There is no way we can speed this process up," Smirnov said.
According to WADA, Russia has already fulfilled 19 requirements that can help it get back in compliance with WADA rules. The remaining demands include appointment of new Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) Committee by Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), with TUE team required to receive special training. RUSADA will also have to submit to a WADA audit, tentatively scheduled for September.
Rusada was declared non-compliant in November 2015 after an independent commission alleged widespread doping in Russian athletics.
A follow-up inquiry led by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren in 2016 claimed doping probes had been tampered with at Rusada's Moscow lab and accused Russian government of running the scheme.
Russian sports officials rejected accusations but promised to look further into doping abuse in national sports.
The three-page compliance roadmap indicates that the Russian watchdog has fulfilled 19 WADA criteria so far but still needs to follow through on a few other requirements.
The world's anti-doping agency told Rusada, the Russian Sports Ministry and the National Olympic Committee to "publicly accept the reported outcomes of the McLaren Investigation."
The Russian government must also provide access to the stored urine samples at the Moscow lab. The probes are sealed off due to a federal investigation into alleged manipulations.
Rusada's supervisory board must pick a new director general via a "transparent, external and objective application and recruitment process." The selection must be monitored by the two international experts.
WADA will then audit Rusada. The tentative date is September 2017. A second audit is to be conducted within four months of the date from which Rusada achieves compliance, according to the roadmap.
