"In response to the publication in The New York Times, RUSADA states that the words of acting General Director Antselovich were distorted and taken out of the context," RUSADA said in a statement provided for TASS.

MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/. The statement made by acting Head of the Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA Anna Antselovich in an interview with The New York Times was misinterpreted, RUSADA said on Wednesday.

"During Antselovich’s talk with journalist Rebecca Ruiz, the acting general director made a remark that in his report of December 9, 2016 Richard McLaren had given up the phrase ‘state-sponsored doping system’ and used the words ‘institutional conspiracy,’ thus excluding the involvement of the country’s top leadership," the statement said.

"Unfortunately, Rebecca Ruiz took these words out of the context, thus creating an impression that the RUSADA leadership admits to the institutional scheme of doping cover-up in Russia," the RUSADA statement said.

RUSADA also stated that it had no powers and could have no powers either to admit or reject such a fact as this case was being probed by Russia’s Investigative Committee.

According to Part 2 of the report delivered by Head of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission McLaren in London on December 9, over 1,000 Russian athletes competing in summer, winter and Paralympic sports could have been involved in the manipulations system to conceal positive doping tests over the recent years.

After the report was released, all the data were transferred to the International Olympic Committee and sports federations that started probes against Russian athletes. The IOC stated, in particular, that it would re-check all the doping samples of Russian athletes from the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Games, and also from the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

Some international competitions in Russia, in particular, the Bobsleigh and Skeleton Championship, the World Cup stages for biathlon and speed skating and the Skiing World Cup final, have been canceled amid foreign athletes’ statements about their possible boycott of these events.