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Agence France-Presse

Russia’s team will be suspended from the Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang after a doping scandal, but individual athletes will be allowed to compete under a neutral flag, the International Paralympics Committee said on Monday.
The agreement is similar to that put in place to allow able-bodied Russian competitors to take part in next month’s Winter Olympics that precede the Paralympics.
Russia was suspended by the IPC in August 2016 following revelations of widespread state-sponsored doping uncovered in a report by Richard McLaren on behalf of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
After a review, the IPC said in a statement on Monday that “it is maintaining the suspension of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC)”.
A sweet deal for Putin: Russia’s Olympic censure is a ban in name only

The anti-doping system in Russia was found to be totally compromised, corrupted and open to abuse
International Paralympics Committee President Andrew Parsons
“However, in recognition of the progress made by the RPC in improving its anti-doping activities, it will allow eligible Russian Para athletes who meet strict conditions to compete in five sports under the name Neutral Paralympic Athlete (NPA),” it said.
Eligible Para athletes from Russia will be allowed to compete in Alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, snowboard and wheelchair curling at the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on March 9-18, the IPC said at a meeting in the western German city of Bonn.
It said that two key criteria to end the wider suspension were still outstanding – the full reinstatement of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) by WADA, and an official response adequately addressing the McLaren findings.
IOC bans Russia from 2018 Winter Olympics over doping scandal
IPC president Andrew Parsons said that in 2016 “the anti-doping system in Russia was found to be totally compromised, corrupted and open to abuse”.
“This made it impossible to determine which Russian Para athletes were clean and which were not; it was clear that Russia’s participation in Para sport events would severely question the integrity and credibility of sporting competition.”

Parsons said the measures taken then by the IPC were “necessary and proportionate” and “essential to ensure clean sport”.
“Seventeen months on, we face a different picture in Russia and it is important that once again our decision is necessary and proportionate to what is in front of us,” he said.
“Although the RPC remains suspended they have made significant progress and we have to recognise this.”
Russian Para athletes were now regularly tested and “among the most scrutinised Para athletes in the world”, he said.
“Under the supervision of WADA, we now have greater confidence that the anti-doping system in Russia is no longer compromised or corrupted.”
Vladimir Putin says US might be manipulating Russian doping whistle-blower with ‘substances’
Russia’s Paralympic committee deputy chief Rima Batalova said the announcement was not a surprise.
“We expected such a decision, taking into consideration what has happened to our Olympic team,” Batalova told R-Sport agency.
Akzhana Abdikarimova, a Russian Paralympic skier and biathlete, said the announcement was “not bad”.
“I already compete as a neutral athlete and expected that events would develop this way,” she told R-Sport.


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Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 2018

Russia is suspended from South Korean paralympics after doping scandal – but individual athletes can join in

Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee, IPC, speaks during a press conference in Bonn, western Germany, Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. Russia's team was banned from the upcoming Pyeongchang Paralympics on Monday because of its doping past. (Marius Becker/dpa via AP)

Children sit next to the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games' official mascots, a white tiger Soohorang, for the Olympics, and black bear Bandabi, right, for Paralympics, near Seoul Plaza Ice Rink in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. South Korea on Tuesday offered high-level talks with rival North Korea to find ways to cooperate on next month's Winter Olympics in the South. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

This file photo taken on September 08, 2016 shows Russia's Paralympians as they compete during a track meet at the Novogorsk Training Center, outside Moscow. Russia's team will be suspended from the Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, but individual athletes will be allowed to compete under a neutral flag, the International Paralympics Committee in Bonn, western Germany, said Monday on January 29, 2018. File photo: AFP.

Russia’s Olympic ban in name only – Vladimir Putin knows a sweet deal when he sees one

IOC president Thomas Bach (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin at 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Sochi. Photo: Kyodo

File photo shows athletes of the Russian Olympic team during the opening ceremony for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. The International Olympic Committee announced Dec. 5, 2017, in Switzerland its decision to ban Russia from competing at the Pyeongchang Olympics in February 2018, citing allegations of state-sponsored doping. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, speaks at a press conference in Lausanne on Dec. 5, 2017. The committee decided to ban Russia from competing at the Pyeongchang Olympics in February 2018, citing a doping problem. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

File photo shows the Olympic flag (L) flying alongside the Russian flag at the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. The International Olympic Committee announced Dec. 5, 2017, in Switzerland its decision to ban Russia from competing at the Pyeongchang Olympics in February 2018, citing allegations of state-sponsored doping. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

FILE - In this file photo taken Saturday, March 8, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground, watches downhill ski competition of the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Roza Khutor mountain district of Sochi, Russia, as Russia's sports minister Vitaly Mutko stands behind. On Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 IOC imposed a lifetime Olympic ban on Mutko. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Presidential Press Service, file)