Russian President Vladimir Putin says officials accused in a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report of enabling widespread abuse of performance-enhancing drugs will be suspended for the duration of an investigation.
"Officials named in the commission's report as direct perpetrators will be temporarily suspended from their duties until the full completion of an investigation," Putin said in the statement, without specifically identifying such officials.
"However, so that a final decision can be made about the liability of officials, we ask the WADA commission to present more complete and objective information, based on facts, for consideration during the investigation by Russian law enforcement authorities."
Earlier on Monday, WADA said it uncovered a state-run system of cheating in Russia, in which doping samples were tampered with and positive drugs tests turned into negative results by doping laboratories in Moscow and Sochi.
