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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee

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Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Mr President, ladies and gentlemen,

I am happy to welcome you to Moscow again. I know you have a very packed agenda here. You took part in the approval of the 2014 Olympic logo - I hope you liked it.

As you may have noticed or learned from our project managers' reports, we are concentrating on Olympic facility construction. A total of 14,500 people are employed at the construction site and over 2,000 construction machines are being used. Of all the facilities planned, 123 are at the design stage; 42 are already past that stage; and construction is underway on 49 sites.

The grand ice arena is at an advanced stage of construction. Local infrastructure is also being developed - the Sochi bypass highway is near completion.

We are determined to make good on all of our commitments with regard to infrastructure development, especially auto and rail links between the coastal and mountain clusters. Our colleagues from the IOC often visit Moscow and Sochi and inspect the construction sites.

The work is supervised in detail by the Russian Government. If any issues arise during project implementation, we always try to resolve them promptly with IOC representatives.

We can feel your support, Mr President, and hope that you are also satisfied with the level of contact between the participants in this complex project.

Jacques Rogge (as translated): Mr Prime Minister, first of all, please accept my sincere condolences regarding the victims of the recent railway tragedy.

Indeed, we attended a presentation of an extremely creative and innovative logo yesterday. Allow me to thank you personally for your support of this project, which keeps it going smoothly and effectively. Thank you for confirming the progress of Olympic preparations.

I am confident that Mr Killy (Jean-Claude Killy is Chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission) can tell you more about the IOC assessments and our response to the Olympic preparations underway in Russia. I would also like to highlight the healthy and businesslike relations between the International Olympic Committee, the Russian Government and Russia's Olympic Committee, which is working on the project. Thank you.