The Chairman of the Committee on Physical Culture, Sport and Youth Affairs, Mikhail Degtiarev
Mikhail Vladimiroviсh
, stated that he would address the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in connection with this situation.
“According to my information, the Embassy of Russia in Austria is already dealing with this situation. I plan to contact the Foreign Ministry in order to prepare the necessary documents, which will reflect our position,” he said.
“As a politician, I see this situation as pressure on our athletes. Especially now the working group is trying to reinstate the Russian Biathlon Union. For this reason, I see here political overtones,” the parliamentarian noted, adding “if someone used doping and there is evidence, I am sure they shall be punished. We are interested in this. But to intrude a year after the competition, and even on the eve of serious events within the International Biathlon Union, all this seems like a political play.”
“We cannot assert whether the athletes are guilty or not, but the methods themselves and the chronology of the events suggest this. We will ask the Foreign Ministry to speak out in defense of our athletes,” concluded the head of the Committee.
“It is obvious that all this is happening just before the second stage of the Biathlon World Cup in order to destabilize our team,” said Dmitrii Svishchev
Dmitry Alexandrovich
, member of the Committee on Physical Culture, Sport and Youth Affairs, honored coach of the Russian Federation, commenting on the situation with Russian biathletes in Austria.
”Now the Russian Embassy should take an active position, and the athletes themselves should try to calmly react on what is happening, show restraint and not fall for a provocation,“ the member of the Committee said.
