Vitaly Mutko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Government, set priorities. The main thing now, in his opinion, is to solve the problems of athletes who must participate in the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. Accusations against him personally - this is "a secondary matter," he said on Thursday, December 7. "We need to concentrate on making sure that as many athletes as possible can go to the Games. For their preparation, years are spent. We have been and will continue to provide assistance at the final stage of training for our athletes, "Mutko said in an interview with" R-Sport ". He is sure that all our athletes, enlisted in the national team, are "clean". "I've been preparing for the Games with this team, I know every one of the guys, I trust," Mutko said, noting that "there have not been any systemic violations in Russian sports regarding anti-doping in the last two years".

As for the IOC's declared disqualification of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and the ban on him personally, Vitaly Mutko, now and forever even approaching the Olympic Games, including attending competitions, the vice prime minister noted that "this is all a secondary matter" that is not his very concerned about. "It's not about me now - about athletes," Mutko stressed once again, noting that he still has his own assessment of what is happening. On Tuesday, December 5, the IOC decided to ban the Russian national team from participating in the 2018 Olympics. In this case, athletes who are not subject to doping, will be allowed to act under a neutral flag.

In Russia, many accused Mutko of the fact that he allowed such an extreme situation.