(Reuters) - The United States warned the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to keep out of its sovereign affairs on Thursday, refusing to remove the threat of pulling funding from the body unless reforms it demands are enacted.Both WADA and U.S. officials expressed the need for cooperation and dialogue during a virtual Foundation Board meeting but it was clear WADA is taking the threat seriously, saying it had prepared two budgets for 2021, one that includes U.S. funding and another that does not. Believing the U.S. threat exposed gaps in the WADA Code, the executive committee and Foundation Board discussed possible sanctions to member countries for unilaterally withdrawing agreed funding, further angering the U.S. A White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) report in June recommended the U.S. Congress hold back funding unless it receives a greater voice in WADA decision making and reforms immediately implemented. “The United States strongly opposes any attempt to amend the Code to penalise public authorities that decide to withdraw funds from WADA,” ONDCP spokesperson Anthony Jones told the Foundation Board. “We see it as a personal attack on the United States and it would be contrary to WADA’s stated desire to improve relationships with the United States government.