MOSCOW, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday urged the anti-doping control of the country's athletes to catch up with other European countries, local media reported.

"The main problem is that the control measures do not meet the European countries' standards, we lag behind and have troubles," the Itar-Tass news agency quoted the president as saying when he paid a visit to Sochi, the Black Sea resort set to hold the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Late last month Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also said that Russia should set up a state-run doping control system and punish those who break the rules more severely, athletes and sports officials included.

Three Russian biathlon racers had been tested positive for a banned substance at the Biathlon World Championships in South Korea recently.

Seven Russian female athletes were disqualified from the 2008 Beijing Olympics only days ahead of its opening because they were ruled to have switched urine samples before tests for performance-enhancing drugs.

Related Story

• China's Sheng Lihao wins 2nd Paris Olympic gold with men's 10m air rifle victory(08-29 19:31)
• Olympics | Day 13: Chinese diver defends Olympic title, weightlifting debutant claims gold(08-09 16:50)
• Olympics | Chinese weightlifters Hou, Li retain gold at Paris 2024(08-08 14:26)
• Olympics | Day 12: Chinese weightlifters retain Olympic golds, artistic swimming team make history(08-08 14:23)
• Olympics | Chinese diver Quan defends women's 10m platform title at Paris Games(08-07 22:37)