The Kremlin said the calls to suspend Russia from the Olympic Games in Rio – RBC

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The Press Secretary to the President, Dmitry Peskov, said that reports The New York Times that ten countries will be offered the IOC to remove all the Russian national team to the Olympics, “very serious issue” to be based on “hypothetical information»

a spokesman for President of Russia Dmitry Peskov on Monday, July 18, told reporters that the Kremlin “in the strongest terms against the use of performance-enhancing drugs,” the correspondent of RBC. According to him, the Kremlin believes that athletes found guilty of doping should be punished, and the punishment of the innocent should be considered unfair.

Commenting on the publication of The New York Times that the representatives of the anti-doping organizations of ten countries preparing to ask IOC to remove the entire Russian team to the forthcoming Olympic Games, Peskov said that it is “too serious a topic to be based on the newspaper information”. . “We can only come from official statements,” – he said Putin’s press secretary

«is based on information hypothetical properties to newspaper sources, we can not too serious question. When will be announced any official statements, then we can say something “- said Peskov. He added that there is “a whole arsenal of legal means to protect the interests of our athletes.” “Clearly, the Russian side will use this arsenal to the end”, -. Said the press secretary of the President

The question of whether the country’s leaders insisted that the Russian athletes took the first place in the Olympic Games in Sochi, Peskov called “absurd.” “Of course, this can be no question”, – he concluded

The day before The New York Times reported that the ten countries, including the USA, Germany, Spain, Japan, Switzerland and Canada, as well. also 20 “sports groups” are prepared to put forward the demand to ban Russia to participate in the Games. The publication claimed that they “came together in anticipation of” confirmations of declarations ex-head of Moscow’s anti-doping laboratory of Gregory Rodchenkova, which states that during the Sochi Olympics winter 2014 his laboratory committed substitution doping samples of athletes.

This question, according to the NYT, will be lifted on July 18 when WADA independent commission will publish a report concerning the investigation of doping at the Olympic games in Sochi.

Earlier, “Sport-Express” published an available version of a draft letter written head of the US Anti-doping agency (USADA) Travis Tigert, in which he demanded to remove the entire Russian team to participate in the Olympic Games-2016. Judging by the text of the letter, it should be made public on Tuesday, July 19th.