Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the "latest charges" against Russian sports are "groundless and not backed up by evidence so far," according to TASS. Peskov: "Whenever any charges are made, there must be some evidence they rely on. As long as there has been no proof, it is hard to react to any accusations, which look rather groundless." Peskov "dismissed as inappropriate" a question from reporters on whether the Russian leader had concerns about Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko. Peskov said, "Mutko is the incumbent minister, so I do not understand your question" (TASS, 11/10). TASS reported in a separate piece Russia's Sports Ministry in a statement called on the World Anti-Doping Agency to "focus on real facts during the investigation against Russian athletes." It said, "The Russian Ministry of Sports will carefully study all the decisions and facts on which this report was made and take the appropriate measures. However, there is a big difference between information that journalists provide and proven facts and evidence which naturally an investigation such as this should be based on. So, we urge WADA to rely on the real facts and evidence." Mutko said on Monday that half of the problems stated in Monday's report "can be rectified" and others are "ungrounded." Following the commission's report, Interpol announced that it would "join a coordinating work led by France." Mutko said that "Interpol had been recommended to carry on with the investigation. This recommendation is the right one." He added, "But this is no criminal case for us. This is the criminal case against the IAAF president. Let us see what is going on over there. It is them, who set out the rules for the rest of the world" (TASS, 11/10).
LASHING OUT: In London, Alec Luhn reported Moscow officials' statements to the Russian media "were far more pointed and combative" than a statement released in English. In an interview with state TV channel RT, Mutko said the commission's findings were “assumptions” based on "unverified sources, unconfirmed facts." Mutko also said that Pound's call for Russian athletes to be suspended from competition "exceeded the powers of the commission." Pound has said that Mutko "must have been aware of widespread doping," but Mutko has said the report "did not name him specifically." Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA) Acting Dir Nikita Kamayev said, "Nothing [in the report] was really news for us, some of the questions are a bit politicized. We are preparing answers to them" (GUARDIAN, 11/10). REUTERS' Osborn & Kiselyova reported Russia's stature as a "sporting superpower" is part of President Vladimir Putin's "rebranding of his country as resurgent," and allegations that Russian athletes have "systematically used performance-enhancing substances have cut deep." Russian Athletics Federation (VFLA) Acting Head Vadim Zelichenok said, "I hope this will not affect the morale of our athletes. There is an element of a political hit job here because quite a few things were described (in the report) in a biased way." The previous VFLA head, Valentin Balakhnichev, whom the report "sharply criticized," left his post in February. He has "repeatedly denied allegations of wrongdoing" and said on Tuesday that he intended to "take legal action to defend his name and that of Russian athletics" (REUTERS, 11/10).
ATHLETE'S PERSPECTIVE: The BBC reported banned Russian athlete Liliya Shobukhova has criticized the commission's recommendation that "all Russian athletes should be banned from competition, stating that punishment should only be handed out to officials involved in doping." The 37-year-old, who was "excluded for life from all the world's major marathons because of doping," but had a separate doping ban cut in August after "agreeing to cooperate" with the WADA investigation, said, "I just don't understand this recommendation by WADA. The athletes are not connected to this at all. How is it possible to deprive young athletes, who are not to blame, of the right to compete at the Olympic Games?" (BBC, 11/10).
