ATHLETICS: Putin pledges 'independent' anti-doping system

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a press conference with his Turkish counterpart on October 10, 2016 in Istanbul

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday pledged to establish an “independent” system to tackle doping in the country, but insisted again that the state had never run a drug cheating programme.

“We are creating a new system of fighting against doping,” Putin was quoted as saying by TASS news agency in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

“We will transfer this system from the sports ministry to an independent organisation, as has been done in many countries in the world,” he said. Russia has been scrambling to reform since a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) inquiry revealed evidence of state-sponsored drug cheating that saw its athletics team squad sidelined from the Rio Games last year.