MOSCOW, February 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will cope with preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, a popular resort on the Black Sea, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
Sochi has been short-listed as a host city for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, along with Austria's Salzburg and South Korea's PyeongChang. The city previously bid for the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, but was rejected largely due to its poor-quality Soviet-era infrastructure. The winner of the bid will be unveiled in July 2007 in Guatemala City.
"If the International Olympic Committee decides to hold the Olympics in Sochi, I have no doubt that we will be able to prepare all the necessary facilities in time," Putin told a news conference in the Kremlin.
He also said the recent blackouts in Sochi will not affect its Olympic plans, adding that the resort faced problems with power supplies almost every year.
"I have often said that the 2014 Olympics is a good way to develop the country's south, Sochi and neighboring territories," Putin said.
Sochi and other towns and villages on the mountainous Black Sea Coast were left without electricity Tuesday after strong winds of 25-30 mps (67 mph), sleet, and ice damaged power lines.
Electricity supplies were restored in full Wednesday afternoon.
