WADA Votes to Reinstate Russia's Anti-Doping Agency

WADA suspended the work of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory in November 2015 over its alleged non-compliance with the world anti-doping code, a source familiar with the situation told Sputnik.
Sputnik

The WADA chief has confirmed that majority of the organization's Compliance Committee had voted to reinstate the status of the Russian anti-doping agency.

"Today, the great majority of WADA's ExCo decided to reinstate RUSADA as compliant with the Code subject to strict conditions, upon recommendation by the Agency's independent CRC and in accordance with an agreed process," Reedie said, as quoted by the agency's Twitter account.

The WADA chief noted that Executive Committee would reinstate RUSADA's non-compliance if it failed to meet "a clear timeline by which WADA must be given access to the former Moscow laboratory data and samples."

According to him, a clear timeline has been granted to the Moscow Laboratory to do this.

"The sooner we are able to access the required data and samples, with the potential to implicate or exonerate a great many athletes, the better. If the Russian authorities continue to refuse access and do not meet our deadlines, then RUSADA will again be declared non-compliant under the ISCCS that offers a much more robust legal framework and a clear process," Reedie added.

Earlier in the day, the source told Sputnik that the majority of the WADA Executive Committee members had backed the reinstatement of the RUSADA.

On September 14, the WADA Compliance Committee decided to recommend that the organization's executive committee to restore RUSADA's rights.

READ MORE: WADA Clarifies Media Reports on RUSADA Reinstatement Procedure

Most members of the committee agreed with the options proposed by Russia for resolving the remaining two points of the roadmap for restoring RUSADA. The first one concerned the recognition of the conclusions of the investigation of the independent WADA commission headed by Richard McLaren, which point to a system of concealing doping violations allegedly taking place in the country from 2011 to 2015. The second mandated that access be provided to doping test data and samples from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency.

In 2015, WADA accused Russia of multiple doping violations and declared that RUSADA was not compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code. In August last year, WADA released a roadmap to code compliance with 12 criteria, which Russia had to meet before the compliance committee could recommend the reinstatement of RUSADA.

READ MORE: WADA Partially Suspends Swedish Anti-Doping Lab

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