MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said Tuesday that he saw no grounds for banning the Russian national team from participating in the 2016 Olympic Games, as the government was taking steps to battle doping among athletes.
"I do not see any grounds [for exclusion of the Russian team from the Olympic Games], or even conversations on the issue," Mutko told reporters.
According to the minister, the steps that the government takes to fight doping are "consistent and clear."
In November 2015, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission issued a report accusing Russia of numerous breaches of global anti-doping regulations and recommended the country be banned from international athletics competitions. As a result, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) temporarily suspended the Russian Athletic Federation's membership of the association.
The Russian authorities have promised to carry out a clean-up program to fulfill the WADA demands in order for the country's athletes to be allowed to participate in the 2016 Olympics.
