Russian Athletics Federation reforms launched, interaction with IAAF commission established - Mutko
MOSCOW. Jan 12 (Interfax) - Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has announced his readiness to attend a January 16 special report and election conference of the Russian Athletics Federation, which will elect its new ruling bodies and tackle other issues.
"Tomorrow, I will be provided with all materials concerning this conference, and we will make a decision as to whether I should take part in it. It is an important issue because, should such a need arise, I will attend it," Mutko told Interfax on Tuesday.
"What counts most is that the process of reforms and changes [within the Russian Athletics Federation] has been launched, and interaction between the Russian side and the IAAF [International Association of Athletics Federations] has been established. Today, they [the IAAF commission] are finalizing their work, and we will discuss their recommendations. Saturday's conference is the first and one of the key phases as part of these changes. Most likely, I will be there on Saturday, although I have already met with the presidium twice," the minister said.
The IAAF inspection commission is in Moscow to monitor the process of reforms at the Russian Athletics Federation, which was disqualified by the IAAF on November 26.
On Monday, members of the IAAF commission met with representatives of the Russian Olympic Committee's coordinating committee, which oversees the reforms of the Russian Athletics Federation. On Tuesday, the IAAF's officials will meet with the coordinating committee once again.
The Russian Athletics Federation will hold its special report and election conference at the headquarters of the Russian Olympic Committee on January 16. Its agenda includes the elections of the federation's new governing bodies, including its president, and discussions of the presidium's report detailing the steps to reform the federation taken in response to reports by the independent commissions of the World Anti-Doping Agency and the IAAF.