Following the ban on Russia’s entire Paralympic team, Russia will hold a Games for the country's athletes, President Vladimir Putin said, the TASS news agency reported Thursday.
Prizes will be identical to those being handed out in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro, TASS reported.
According to Putin, members of the Russian Paralympic team will be supported by the government and a special competition will be organized in order for them “to demonstrate their skills.”
The decision to ban Russia from the Paralympics is “against the law, against morality and against humanity,” the president said.
He added that “international anti-doping organizations must be free from politics,” TASS reported. Putin's statements echo those made by Sergei Shilov, a member of Russia's Paralympic Committee.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced earlier this month that the entire Russian team would be banned from this summer’s Paralympic Games following damning reports of state-sponsored doping within the country.
Russia appealed the ban, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the IPC's decision to ban Russia’s Paralympic squad.
