Russia insists Sochi is ‘safe’ after US toothpaste tube bomb warning
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The Sochi Olympics are as safe as any place in the West from militant attacks, Russia said yesterday, 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 Games, which begin today. Twin suicide bombings killed at least 34 people in December in Volgograd, some 700 kilometers northeast of Sochi.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, speaking on the eve of the opening ceremony, told journalists 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 has staked his reputation on the Games, which at around US$50 billion will be the most expensive in Olympic history.
Islamist guerrillas seeking an independent Islamic state in Chechnya and neighboring regions of southern Russia have aimed threats at the Games, which they argue take place on land seized from Caucasus tribes in the 19th century.
Despite a “ring of steel” around venues and some 37,000 security personnel on alert, Russian forces fear a woman suspected of planning a suicide bombing may have slipped through.
However, security officials believe the risk of an attack is far greater elsewhere in Russia than in Sochi or the Caucasus mountain cluster nearby.
President Barack Obama has said he believed Sochi was safe, but behind the scenes there has been tension between Russian and US officials, including concerns the host nation might react with excess force in the event of an attack and endanger civilian lives.
On Wednesday, a senior US security official said Washington had issued a warning to airports and airlines to watch for toothpaste tubes that could hold ingredients to make a bomb on a plane.
The official did not say why such a specific warning was being issued now. Airlines and airports have been aware for several years of the dangers of bombs being concocted on aircraft from liquids smuggled aboard.
Putin faces other hazards at the games, with rows over anti-gay propaganda laws, allegations of corruption, cost overruns and concerns over security.
Organizers have also been scrambling to deal with teething problems, including complaints about accommodation and an outcry over the fate of stray dogs being rounded up in Sochi.
Russia’s contentious “gay propaganda” law was again in the spotlight yesterday, when United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned discrimination and attacks on people based on their sexual orientation.
“Hatred of any kind must have no place in the 21st century,” he said, addressing an International Olympic Committee session in Sochi.
Russia, hosting a Winter Games for the first time, has come under mounting criticism since the government passed legislation last year which critics say discriminates against homosexuals.
Putin has defended the law as protecting minors and said homosexuals will not face discrimination at the Olympics.
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