Russians ask IOC not to admit Sochi Olympic construction in reserve territories

Residents of 12 subjects of the Russian Federation have addressed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with a request not to allow erection of Olympic objects in the Grushevy Ridge and within buffer zone of the Caucasian Reserve. The appeal was signed by 6,074 persons.

The citizens' letter and their signatures were handed over to the IOC on January 23, during the meeting of the Committee's officials with Greenpeace representatives from Switzerland and Russia. Nina Nesterova, coordinator of the "Movement of Wildlife Protection Teams" in the hot campaign "For Saving the Nature of the Caucasus", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about it.

"The collection of citizens' signatures," Ms Nesterova remarked, "was organized by the 'Movement of Wildlife Protection Teams' with assistance of the Kostroma public ecologic movement "In the Name of Life" and a representative of the Sochi branch of the Russian Geographic Society."

Besides, the Greenpeace expressed the united position on the issue of Russian ecological organizations and handed over to the IOC a complete set of documents on the problem.

In response, Ms Michelle Lamaitres, IOC representative, expressed her "complete understanding of the problem". She assured that the IOC would not like the 2014 Olympiad to get some anti-ecologic image, and will make everything possible to reach a positive settlement of the problem.