No research into times for meldonium removal from human body, Moscow received official confirmation of it - Mutko
MOSCOW. March 16 (Interfax) - The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has confirmed to Russia that there has been no research into how long it takes to get meldonium out of the human body, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has said.
"We sent an enquiry to WADA and today we received a reply: there has, of course, been no research into how long it takes to get this substance out of the human body. Naturally, we want to examine each individual case with our foreign colleagues," Mutko said at the president's meeting with government members.
All doctors and coaches intend to stop athletes from taking this substance, the sports minister said. "At the same time, in the majority of their explanations, athletes have said that the substance was used in October, November of last year," Mutko added.
"We accept the criticism against us, we believe that we must not cast any shadows on bona fide Russian athletes, and will, therefore, tighten the measures of responsibility," the minister said.