SOCHI, Russia, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Russia's security forces will be ready and able to secure next month's Winter Olympics from terrorist attacks, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
Putin said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday that the entire nation was on alert in the event Islamic terrorists based in the nearby Caucasus try to launch a strike in Sochi or some other part of his nation.
"We have adequate needs available to us through the federal security service, the interior ministry, armed forces units that will be involved in providing security on the water and in the air," Putin said in the interview that took place in Sochi. "If necessary, all those tools will be activated."
Putin said the presence of security forces inside Sochi next month would be heavy but would not be "in your face" or needlessly inconvenience athletes, fans and the media.
Putin added that everyone was welcome in Sochi, including homosexuals and even accused U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, who is living in Russia under a grant of asylum.
"He has a right to travel freely across the country," Putin said. "He has no special limitation. He can just buy a ticket and come here."
