Russia is currently not obligated to make annual payments to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), after Moscow ended its membership in the Council of Europe last year, the Russian Ministry of Sports told the Russian news agency TASS.
News recently emerged that Russia has not paid the scheduled 2023 contribution of approximately $1.25 million to the World Anti-Doping Agency. The Sports Ministry's press office responded to the news agency on Thursday, telling the news agency that Russia “supports the principle of equal financing of the annual main budget of the World Anti-Doping Agency.” But they added, “Currently there is no common formula for funding WADA that countries agree to.”
European countries that have signed WADA regulations pay money to the fund based on how much they contribute to the Council of Europe budget each year.
Russia ended its membership in the Council in March 2022 after the outbreak of conflict in Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Sports, the mechanism for contributions to the World Anti-Doping Agency has not yet been developed for countries “that are not members of continental organizations, especially the Council of Europe.”
The Department also said it had raised the issue of funding for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) before members of the International Convention against Doping in Sport, where it proposed a consensus approach to funding anti-doping programmes. The topic is expected to be discussed at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conference in Paris in October.
The Russian Ministry of Sports added that it will not pay an annual contribution to the WADA Fund except under these conditions.
The news agency reported that Russia is one of eight countries that will pay WADA more than $1 million annually. Along with Great Britain, Germany, Italy and France, he must pay $1.26 million by 2023 under World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines.
The United States ($3.4 million), Canada ($1.7 million), and Japan ($1.5 million) are the three largest funders of the anti-doping program. All countries except Russia have made their contributions for 2023.
In 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency banned Russia from participating in all major sporting events, including the Olympic Games, after investigating allegations of widespread anti-doping violations. Russia has consistently denied the allegations and the ban was later reduced to two years following an appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
