© Gleb Garanich / Reuters
"[FIG] strongly feels that not all Russian athletes of all sports should be banned and found guilty for actions in other sports and federations," - read a statement on the federation's website.
Comment: That should be common sense. Singling out Russia for this treatment only shows how politically motivated it is. If it wasn't so, they would be subjecting each and every nation involved to the same standards of investigation.
On Saturday several anti-doping agencies, including those of the United States and Canada, said they want the International Olympic Committee to ban all Russian athletes taking part in the Rio Olympics, if WADA's report on state-backed doping at the 2014 Sochi winter Olympics confirms the allegations on Monday.
"Before any actions are taken against FIG's athletes, facts must be presented and doping offenses must be proven.
"FIG's Russian gymnasts have been subject to controls equal to those of our other leading gymnastics federations.
Comment: Implication: if Russians were doping, chances are (most?) other nations were too.
"Clean Russian gymnasts must therefore be allowed to compete at the Games," FIG stressed in the statement.
After Russian track and field athletes were banned in June from competing in Rio by the world governing International Association of Athletics' Federations (IAAF), the International Olympic Committee said Russian athletes will be evaluated individually to determine their eligibility to compete in the Games.
Since then only long-jumper Darya Klishina, who trains outside Russia, has been cleared to compete in Rio. While WADA informant Yulia Stepanova is still waiting to hear from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) about her case.
Comment: Putin has responded to the WADA report here, with the goal of recent trends "to make sport an instrument for geopolitical pressure and use it to form a negative image of countries and peoples ... We have the impression that the USADA experts had access to what is an unpublished report at the very least, and have set its tone and even its content themselves. If this is the case, one country's national organisation is again trying to dictate its will to the entire world sports community." The single individual on whose testimony is based is shady, to say the least. See further analysis from Alexander Mercouris here.
The officials named in the report have been temporarily removed from their positions until the facts are established.