Russian Anti-Doping Agency's rights partly restored: sports minister

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) had been partly restored in its rights, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has said.

"The process of restoring RUSADA in its rights is underway and some of them have already returned," Mutko said on Friday, reports Tass.

"We are speaking here about the plans on the anti-doping work, issuance of permissions to cross the border for relevant organisations coming here."

"RUSADA will be ordering probe sampling with Britain and doping samples will be delivered to other international laboratories," Mutko added.

The Independent Commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) published on November 9 the results of its probe into the activity of the All-Russia Athletics Federation (ARAF), the Moscow anti-doping laboratory, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) and the sports ministry.

The commission accused certain athletes and sports officials of doping abuse and involvement in other activities related to violations of international regulations on performance enhancing substances.

RUSADA and the Moscow anti-doping laboratory subsequently suspended their activities, while WADA's Board of Founders approved the decision of the agency's Independent Committee that RUSADA did not comply with the Code of the international anti-doping organisation.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said at its Council meeting in November that a report prepared by the All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) on the struggle against doping was unsatisfactory and decided by a majority of votes to suspend Russia's membership in the international athletics association.

The WADA Independent Commission was set up and began its work following a series of German documentaries on the alleged mass use of performance enhancing drugs among Russia's field and track athletes.

Sports minister Mutko travelled on November 25-26 to Germany, where he met with the administration of WADA, and a Road Map on the settlement of the current situation was drafted as a result of that meeting.

The Russian government announced on December 21 that the Russian Sports Ministry would be in charge of overseeing the work of the newly reorganised Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory.

The Russian government is reorganizing the previously independent Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory into a federal state budget-financed institution with the Ministry of Sport to oversee its work.

The Russian sports ministry was given a period of three months of implementing all measures necessary to transform the laboratory into a state budget-finance institution.