Moscow vows to continue defending Russian athletes' rights in courts

Moscow will continue to back the rights of Russian Winter Games athletes in courts and is very happy for those athletes whose appeals against life bans have been upheld, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

The athletes came under the IOC's ban following a probe by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) commission under Denis Oswald, which retested the doping samples from the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, reports Tass news agency.

"We have stated many times that certainly, we will continue supporting our athletes through all possible channels in any steps aimed at defending their rights," Peskov said on Thursday.

The decision of the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on the Russian athletes confirms that "the energetic steps on defending the rights in court and in other categories are justified, they may be effective and they should continue," he noted.

"We hope that certainly these steps will continue and we are very happy for our athletes," Peskov stressed.

Speaking on the use of doping by Russian athletes, Peskov said: "No doubt, many other countries had these problems."

Peskov also recalled President Vladimir Putin's recent remark that Russia will continue its uncompromising fight against the use of doping.

--IANS

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