Mr Putin will have talks with leaders of the nation’s sports federations in Sochi about preparations for next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
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The president of the global Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, expects Russian Federation will comply with doping regulations in time for its athletes to compete at next year’s Rio Games despite calls for the country to be banned amid allegations of state-backed cheating. It is not the main thing. It could also strip the country of future events, including the World Junior Championships due to be held in Kazan in July 2016.
But other voters, 18 percent, agreed with Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko – who said earlier this week that WADA’s allegations were politically motivated – and voted: “I don’t know, it looks like part of a conspiracy against Russia”.
In Wada’s independent commission report, which was published on Monday, officials from the Moscow laboratory were accused of intentionally and maliciously destroying more than 1,400 samples after receiving written notification from the anti-doping organisation to preserve target samples.
The sports leaders have instead arranged a meeting in the city of Mineralnye Vody with Russian Olympic Committee president Alexander Zhukov.
He said: “I won’t fail, but I also accept that this is a huge journey”.
The IOC also suspended honorary member and former worldwide Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Lamine Diack, who was placed under investigation by French authorities last week on charges of corruption and money-laundering in relation to a cover-up of Russian doping cases.
It is understood that IAAF president Sebastian Coe wants to have the disciplinary process completed within a month. “How is it possible to deprive young athletes, who are not to blame, of the right to compete at the Olympic Games?”
Athletes can use a variety of techniques to evade detection, including timing consumption so the banned substances leave their system before competition.
A spokesperson for Vladimir Putin brushed off a report from the World Anti-Doping Agency accusing Russian sport leaders of sanctioning interference with anti-doping laboratories, the destruction of samples and the payment of bribes to hide positive drug tests.
Athletics has been engulfed in controversy, with an independent commission established by the World Anti-Doping Agency calling for the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF) to be suspended by the IAAF on Monday.
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– The head of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency acknowledged there is a problem but insisted his country is moving forward to address it.
