Russia looks to turn over a new leaf, agrees to reform

MOSCOW: Moscow and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have come to an agreement on steps to reform Russia’s scandalridden anti-doping agency, the country’s sports minister said on Tuesday.

“We have agreed on a roadmap,” Interfax news agency quoted sports minister Vitaly Mutko as saying.

“It’s clear what we have to do,” Mutko said, declining to disclose the details of the roadmap.

The announcement comes days after Mutko met with WADA head David Howman in Frankfurt for talks on how to revamp Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA, which has been found non-compliant with international anti-doping standards.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) suspended Russia last month after a bombshell report published by a WADA independent commission found evidence of state-sponsored doping and large-scale corruption in Russian athletics.

Russia -- whose anti-doping agency RUSADA and anti-doping laboratory have been suspended over the report -- has vowed to retrieve IAAF membership in time for its track and field athletes to compete at next year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

WADA’s report accused RUSADA of “routinely” violating international testing standards and allowing athletes banned for doping to compete despite having been suspended from competition, among other damning accusations.