OREANDA-NEWS. Ahead of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, the Russian President gave an interview to reporters from BBC, ABC News, CCTV, Rossiya-1, Channel One, and Around the Rings.

One of the questions addressed enforcing security during the Olympic Games:

“If we allow ourselves to show weakness, to show our fear, it means we will help the terrorists achieve their goals. I think that international community, working in all areas – humanitarian, political, and economic – must join forces in the fight against the inhumanity of terrorist attacks and killing entirely innocent people. Our task and that of the organisers is to ensure the security of the athletes and guests at this major sports event, and we will do everything to ensure this.

We will try to make certain that the security measures are not intrusive or too conspicuous, so they are not too noticeable for the athletes, the Olympics’ guests or journalists. But at the same time, we will do our utmost to ensure that they are effective.”

The President also answered a question on what was behind the decision to hold the Olympics in Sochi – satisfaction of ambitions or state interests:

“This is not my personal ambition. This is the direct, concentrated interest of our state and our people. Naturally, when I see this, when I see us doing this, I am pleased, of course, but I repeat, it is not about satisfying some sort of ambition. There is also a moral aspect to it. I will tell you directly, there is no need to put on airs or be shy about anything. After the fall of the Soviet Union, after the rather difficult and, frankly, bloody events in the Caucasus, the overall state of our society was depressed and pessimistic. We need to cheer up. We must realise and feel that we are able to implement major, large-scale projects.”