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Russia to thoroughly investigate doping cases

Xinhua, March 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov Wednesday said Russia will thoroughly investigate doping cases of Russian athletes.

"If you remember, several months ago the presidential council on sports held a session in Sochi, and the president made a statement then, clearly assigning our sports officials to investigate each concrete case, and do it as openly as possible in full cooperation with relevant international structures," Peskov said.

"We are confident that this time it will be like this as well," TASS news agency quoted Peskov as saying.

Peskov noted that the accusations should not be extended to all Russian sports.

"The situation should not be presented in such a way that it somehow casts a shadow on all Russian sports, on great achievements of our athletes," he said.

Peskov meanwhile warned that "unacceptable and inexcusable" attempts to politicize sports would destruct international sports.

As of Wednesday, media reported that several Russian athletes have been found using meldonium.

The list, besides Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova, included figure skater Yekaterina Bobrova, cyclist Eduard Vorganov, speed-skater Pavel Kulizhnikov, short-track skaters Semyon Yelistratov and Yekaterina Konstantinova, as well as volleyball player Alexander Markin.

The World Anti-Doping Agency added on Jan. 1 of this year mildronate, also known as meldonium, to the prohibited list. The drug is used to treat diabetes and low magnesium.

During an interview with Russian media Vesti.ru, developer of meldonium Ivars Kalvins claimed that the substance could not help athletes to perform better, but rather aimed to protect their health. Endit