Putin to inspect Sochi Games preparations

Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday inspected a skiing site in Sochi, taking several runs at the slopes where the upcoming Winter Olympics Games will take place.

"In the coming days, the president will carefully examine all sites of the mountain cluster and the coastal cluster," Xinhua quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying.

Putin will also check the readiness of the opening ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Peskov added.

He said the president intended to "pay special attention not to the sites that are fully ready and are waiting for guests, but those which still have some minor deficiencies".

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who is also in Sochi, skied with Putin for a while before they had some mulled wine.

Two terrorist bombings hit Volgograd, some 690 km northeast of Sochi, Dec 29-30, killing 34 people and injuring more than 100. Meanwhile, Russian Olympic Committee president Alexander Zhukov said no extra security measures would be adopted during Sochi Games since everything necessary has been done.

The 22nd Winter Olympic Games, the first time in Russia, are slated for Feb 7-23, 2014, with 98 sets of medals up for grab.