MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/: Russia is critical of US attempts to spread its jurisdiction to other countries, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said about the US Senate’s adoption of the Rodchenkov Act.
"Certainly, we took note of that," Peskov said. "As you may know, in the context of this document and in general we are extremely critical of any attempts by the United States to extend its jurisdiction to other countries."
The Kremlin spokesman believes that "this can cause nothing but concern." "Such transborder practices do not suit us and we disagree with them," he said.
The bill passed by the US Senate would allow US justice officials to seek prosecution for doping conspirators in competitions involving American athletes. The Rodchenkov Act will apply to all competitions held in accordance with the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and envisages the possibility of prosecuting any person around the world involved in a doping collusion at competitions where the United States is present.
The act was named after a former director of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov, who is positioned as WADA’s chief informer in the case of doping violations in Russian sports. In October, the bill was approved by the House of Representatives of the US Congress. Now the US president has ten days to sign it into law.
Earlier, WADA repeatedly opposed the adoption of this act and expressed concern over its exterritorial aspect. Also, the agency pointed to the risk of legal redundancy in different jurisdictions, which would destabilize the anti-doping structure and the existence of a set of unified rules for all athletes around the world.
