Russia downplays security concerns, despite travel advisories
Posted January 27, 2014 7:06 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SOCHI, RUSSIA (NEWS1130) – How safe are our athletes, dignitaries and tourists heading to the Olympic Games?
Russia is downplaying security concerns after Canada and the United States issued travel advisories for Sochi, with the country’s ambassador to the US stating the region is “as safe as the rest of Russia.”
There have been ominous warnings about potential terrorist attacks when the Games start next week, but Sergey Kislyak told CNN that Sochi is a “wonderful place for Olympics, first. Secondly, it’s not close to war zone. There is no war zone in Russia.”
Ottawa is warning Canadians attending the games to “take responsibility for their own safety” and to “maintain a high level of vigilance.”
Thirty-four people were killed in two suicide bombings last month in Volgograd, north of Sochi. Extremists have also posted a video online warning of attacks and there are reports that “black widow” suicide bombers may be preparing to target Olympic venues.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Sochi is making some strong comments ahead of the games — not about security, but about gay people in his city.
“We don’t have them in our town,” he told the BBC.
Anatoly Pakhomov said homosexuals were welcome at the Games, as long as they “respect Russian law” and “don’t impose their habits on others.”
Openly gay Vancouver city councillor Tim Stevenson is in a delegation heading for Sochi tomorrow, where Russia’s controversial law banning the promotion of “non-traditional” sexuality to minors has been seen as an attack on gay rights.
