Sorry for not being able to shield you from doping scam: Putin to Russian athletes
The president said athletes faced "very difficult conditions" as a result of the scandal.
Russian President Vladimir Putin today said "sorry"on behalf of his government for not being able "shield" athletes after the doping scandal hit the country.
The president said athletes faced "very difficult conditions" as a result of the scandal.
"Forgive us for not having been able to shield you from this," Putin said.
On Wednesday, the Russian president had admitted to "instances" of doping in Russia.
However, Putin dismissed whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov as an "idiot" after he reportedly said that the Russian president must have known about state-sponsored doping program.
The International Olympic Committee has banned Russia from the 2018 Olympics after reports of large-scale doping in previous games.
Only 169 of Russian athletes have been allowed to take part in the Winter Olympics next month under a neutral flag as"Olympic Athlete from Russia".
"For us certain things are truly strange," Putin said, adding, "Hundreds of thousands, millions of fans who love you are watching you."
Meanwhile, Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said the verdicts on appeals from 39 Russian athletes who were given lifetime Olympic bans for doping violations at the 2014 Sochi Games will be announced on Thursday.
The athletes were disqualified from their events, banned from participating in future Olympics and in some cases stripped of their medals following the International Olympic Committee’s investigation of widespread doping in Sochi.