Kosachev: dirty war declared against Russian athletes

Russian Federation Council lawmaker Konstantin Kosachev commented on the reports that Secretary General of the All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) Mikhail Butov has been suspended from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Council until the ARAF is restored to its rights.

Kosachev, who heads the upper house’s foreign affairs committee, said the war declared against Russian athletes is of an unfair and illegal character.

"The war on that side is of a very dirty, illegal and unfair character in regard to athletes hit by it and unfair towards the country that they represent," Kosachev said. 

"We are not waging this war, this war has been apparently declared against us," TASS cited him as saying.

The lawmaker said Russia is trying to keep a cold head and deal with its opponents by the language of facts, not emotions.