"The close possibility of the Olympic team’s suspension is quite an alarming case," explained Victor Smirnov, who added "however, the question is put differently than it seems."
WADA cited evidence it had allegedly found that the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory hadn't reported having found any Russian athletes who'd ingested illegal drugs. Previously, the New York Times reported that 10 countries had already vote for the Russian team’s suspension from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
In the meantime, Victor Smirnov informed Sputnik, "the decision on the disqualification of every single Russian athlete is the prerogative and the right of the International Olympics Committee alone, definitely not the vote of 10 random countries. Its already known the committee intends to deal with the doping issue after the Olympic Games, as innocent athletes cannot collectively be held accountable for what they have not done."
Victor Smirnov told Sputnik, "addressing the question of whether Russian athletes will be attending the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil goes against International Olympics Committee’s (IOC) interests. Therefore, the IOC cannot be interested in boycotts as if such scenario happens, it will turn into a tragic, irrevocable decision. This might lead to completely irreversible processes or even to the collapse of the sports society. Especially when previous boycotts did not pay off."
Meanwhile Sputnik obtained an official statement of the 2016 Olympics Organizing Committee regarding the doping scandal:
"We are happy to welcome all of the world's best athletes to attend the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and we feel it is highly important to emphasize our view regarding the doping issue," the Olympics Organizing Committee told Sputnik. "First of all, Rio 2016 supports the politics of the IOC, and secondly, we firmly support the positions of doping-free athletes. From this day, we will work closely with the IOC as to provide for clean Olympic Games, which Brazilian society deserves."
