Russia seeks to soothe security jitters on eve of Winter Games

Friday, 7 February 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Russia said on Thursday its Sochi Olympics were as safe as any place in the West from militant attacks after Washington warned airports and some airlines that toothpaste tubes could be used to smuggle bomb-making materials onto a Russia-bound plane.

Russian forces are on high alert over threats by Islamist militant groups based in the nearby north Caucasus to attack the Winter games, which begin on Friday. Twin suicide bombings killed at least 34 people in December in Volgograd, some 400 miles (700 km) northeast of Sochi. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, speaking on the eve of the opening ceremony, told journalists in Sochi that Russian security services were working with colleagues from Europe and North America. “There is no reason to believe that the level of danger in Sochi is greater than at any other point on the planet, be it Boston, London, New York or Washington. “We can guarantee the safety of people as well as any other government hosting any mass event,” he said, speaking through a translator. President Vladimir Putin, who launched a war to crush a rebellion in nearby Chechnya in 1999, has staked his reputation on the Games, which at around $50 billion will be the most expensive in Olympic history.