Russia security backed after blasts
Officials say 2014 Winter Games and World Cup bids will not be affected by train attacks.
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| Rogge says he is confident about security [AFP] |
Olympic chief Jacques Rogge says he trusts Russia to provide security for the 2014 winter Games in Sochi despite a deadly train bombing at the weekend, while the country’s football administrators remain confident about their World Cup bids.
On Friday a bomb blast caused a crash on the main line between Moscow and St Petersburg, killing 26 people and injuring 100.
Another bomb exploded under a train in Russia’s troubled Dagestan region on Monday but there were no deaths.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) president visited Moscow on Tuesday to unveil an emblem for the 2014 Winter Olympics and meet Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.
‘Fully trusted’
“The Russian authorities are aware of the need to have a secure environment and we fully trust them,” he said.
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“We are a huge nation. We have friends, we have enemies and we are a target like everyone else” World Cup bid CEO Alexey Sorokin |
“Yesterday we met President Medvedev and expressed our condolences.”
The Russians are confident meanwhile that the attacks won’t harm their bid to stage the football World Cup for the first time in 2018 or 2022.
Bid committee chief executive Alexey Sorokin said every country had suffered from terrorist attacks and there were very few exceptions among Russia’s World Cup competitors.
“We are a huge nation. We have friends, we have enemies and we are a target like everyone else,” he said.
Separatist concern
Security arrangements for the 2014 Winter Olympics have been one of the main issues for the IOC because the Black Sea resort is only a few miles from the border with Georgia’s separatist region of Abkhazia.
Rogge said he was also planning to meet prime minister Vladimir Putin, who had been the main force in helping bring the 2014 Games to Russia.
“Russia is seen as an enigmatic country of contrasts,” said Sochi 2014 chief executive Dmitry Chernyshenko, unveiling the new emblem.
“Sochi 2014 has always been about being a gateway to the future and our new brand demonstrates that commitment more strongly than ever.
“It is also the gateway for the world to discover Russia’s passion, innovation and excellence.”