Putin calls for anti-doping reform in Russia

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin called Friday for a new anti-doping commission to be created to shape Russia’s future strategy, as the country faces possible exclusion from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Putin’s intervention came as former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev wrote to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach to oppose a blanket ban on the Russian team, saying that a collective sanction was “unacceptable.”

Putin did not directly address allegations that Russian government officials helped to cover up hundreds of doping cases, but said the state was resolutely opposed to performance-enhancing drug use.

“In sport there is not and cannot be a place for any doping,” Putin said. “Sport must be clean, and an athlete’s health must be properly protected.”

He added there was a need to “cooperate closely” on doping with the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency, the latter of which welcomed Thursday’s court ruling to uphold a ban on Russia’s scandal-hit track and field team.

Putin told a meeting of Russia’s cabinet that the commission, under the direction of the Russian Olympic Committee, would provide “rapid development and tough control for the effective realization of a national plan on the fight against doping.”

He added that the commission would be “independent” and would include Russians and foreigners in the fields of medicine, law and sports administration. He did not give a timescale for the commission to begin its work.

Smirnov, a former IOC vice president, was among five IOC members given a “serious warning” in 1999 for their role in the Salt Lake City bid scandal. A total of 10 members resigned or were expelled for receiving cash, gifts and other improper inducements during the city’s winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games.

Smirnov suggested in televised comments that the Russian doping scandal was a series of “misunderstandings,” and said the new commission would aim to eradicate performance-enhancing drug use from sport entirely.