Russia: Putin awards Paralympians after all-Russian games, condemns 'unjust' Rio ban

Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Paralympic athletes in Moscow, Monday, following the all-Russian Paralympic Games, which were organised for disabled athletes banned from competing in the Rio 2016 Games.
The athletes were given flowers and certificates by the president at the ceremony, which was also attended by Russian Sports Minister Vitali Mutko.
Addressing the Paralympians regarding the ban from the Rio Games following Russia's doping scandal, Putin said that: "Russia has been closely cooperating with the international organisations. The independent anti-doping committee is working actively. We are in favour of establishing a precise, equal and absolutely transparent system of controlling sports, including the anti-doping activities. There must be no politicising, no hypocrisy and no double-standards in this area. I already said when meeting the Russian Olympic team in the Kremlin that the anti-doping work on an international level must be open and transparent. These are not spy games."
Putin also stressed that "any inspections and checks must be public, open and transparent. The international sporting community must always be aware of who, when and how one is being inspected, what the results of these tests are and what the implications are, especially when it is about the Paralympic family."
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) suspended the entire Russian Paralympic team from the participation in this year's Rio Games, which were held between September 7 and 18. The decision was announced by the IPC President Philip Craven on August 7.