Three WADA officers visited Moscow at the end of November to hold meetings with Russian officials and discuss the next steps of their cooperation.
WADA officials were granted access to the laboratory – which is at the center of doping scandal claims –as part of the deal reached between the two sides for WADA to reinstate the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) in September, which had been suspended for over three years.
The anti-doping governing body gave Russia a deadline of December 31 to provide access and data to samples sealed in the Moscow laboratory, outlining that RUSADA would be suspended again if the commitment was violated.
On Wednesday, Russia’s anti-doping chief vowed that all the procedures regarding entrance to the lab would be fulfilled by December 22, before the WADA officials take their Christmas holidays.
WADA officials told TASS that the date of their second visit to Moscow had not been clarified, adding that they need to settle all the details with Russian officials. The world anti-doping watchdog stressed that its ‘checking mission’ should be completed before the outlined deadline.