Russia’s Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin has been praised by the Council of Europe for his strong commitment to anti-doping ©Russian Ministry of Sport

Russia’s Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin has been praised for adopting a strong stance against doping in the country.

Mikhail Petru, head of the anti-doping monitoring group of the Council of Europe, thanked Matytsin "for his very strong commitment to the fight against doping" following a visit to Moscow.

A delegation was in the Russian capital to assess whether the country is correctly implementing measures laid out in the convention against doping, a document first launched in 1989 and signed by all 47 Council of Europe members, including Russia.

During the three-day visit, the group held meetings and meetings with the leadership of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, the Russian Olympic Committee, the Russian Paralympic Committee, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) and several of the country’s sports federations.

"The entire programme has been completed, meetings were held in the Ministry of Sports, the Russian Olympic Committee, the Russian Paralympic Committee and RUSADA," Matytsin told Russia’s official state news agency TASS.

"We have developed a concept of regional cooperation in countering doping.

"It was stated that Russia is against collective responsibility.

"But we respect the decision made by CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport).

"The situation with the restoration of RUSADA is also proceeding according to schedule."

A delegation from the Council of Europe is set to publish a report in December about Russia's anti-doping efforts ©Russian Ministry of Sport
A delegation from the Council of Europe is set to publish a report in December about Russia's anti-doping efforts ©Russian Ministry of Sport

The World Anti-Doping Agency had imposed a four-year package of punishments on Russia in December 2018 after it found doping data from the Moscow Laboratory had been tampered with and manipulated.

A three-member CAS panel cut the period of sanctions to two years last December following an appeal by the RUSADA.

The panel ruled only Russian athletes who meet certain criteria will be able to compete as neutrals at events including Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The group from the Council of Europe are due to submit a report scheduled to be published in December.

"Now we will prepare a report on the results of the visit and recommendations for your governing bodies," Petru told TASS.

"I am grateful to the Minister of Sports Oleg Matytsin for his openness, for his very strong commitment to the fight against doping,"