The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement today urging his country to ‘heed the demands of the McLaren Investigation’. The McLaren Investigation Report I, released on 18 July 2016, confirmed institutionalized manipulation of the doping control process in Russia; while Report II, released on 9 December 2016, reconfirmed manipulation and focused on the number of athletes that may have benefited.

“WADA is encouraged by this sign of progress from the highest political levels in Russia today,” said Sir Craig Reedie, President, WADA.  “Since November 2015, the Agency, UK Anti-Doping and others have been working hard in supporting Russia’s efforts to rebuild a credible anti-doping system,” said Reedie. “This public admission by Russian President Vladimir Putin that their ‘anti-doping system has failed’ is an important step in the right direction,” Reedie continued.

“In November 2015, WADA established a ‘Roadmap’ to return the Russian National Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) to compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code (Code),” said Olivier Niggli, Director General, WADA. “Effectively, RUSADA must demonstrate that its processes are truly autonomous, independent from outside interference and properly resourced for the task of protecting clean athletes both in Russia and abroad,” he said. “Only once RUSADA, and its governing structures, has successfully demonstrated that it can achieve such independence, will Russian sport be able to redeem itself in the eyes of clean athletes and other stakeholders worldwide.”

On 18 November 2015, RUSADA was declared non-compliant, following a key recommendation of WADA’s Independent Pound Commission that revealed widespread doping in Russian athletics. Shortly thereafter, WADA outlined the Roadmap aimed at returning RUSADA to compliance with the Code. WADA will make contact with the relevant authorities to discuss this development and plan the immediate next steps.

• This media release was originally published by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on 1 March 2017. To access the original, please click here.