Russia cannot acknowledge McLaren Report clause on state support for doping - Russian Olympic Committee head Zhukov
MOSCOW. March 2 (Interfax) - Moscow cannot acknowledge the report by WADA Independent Person Richard McLaren concerning doping in Russia, as it declares the existence of a state-sponsored doping system in Russia, which makes the reinstatement of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) problematic, Russian Olympic Committee President Alexander Zhukov said.
"As for RUSADA, it's a difficult issue. We have implemented the roadmap for its reinstatement almost entirely, except for two clauses," Zhukov said on the television channel Rossiya-24 on Friday.
"Clause one is the recognition of the McLaren Report, which cannot happen, as it states that Russia had a state-supported doping system, which is not the case," he said.
"There is a contradiction, which should be eliminated somehow in negotiations with WADA, as they are insisting on something that didn't exist," Zhukov said.
WADA has also demanded that Russia release a large number of test samples which the Russian Investigative Committee has sealed as part of a criminal case against former Moscow Anti-Doping Lab chief Grigory Rodchenkov, he said.
"Nobody will release material evidence before the investigation has been completed, and it's hard to suggest when it's going to be completed, because Rodchenkov is not planning to travel to Russia to appear before investigators," Zhukov said.
He described the situation as "unsolvable" but at the same time called for a search for ways to solve it.
"It's necessary to find some ways to solve this problem," Zhukov said.