Russian Interior Minister Says 37,000 Police Officers Will Be Deployed For Sochi Games

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said Friday that 37,000 police officers "had been deployed" to protect the 2014 Sochi Olympics, according to the MOSCOW TIMES. Kolokoltsev was "repeating official assurances to make the Olympics safe despite the threat of an Islamist insurgency in the region." Kolokoltsev said on Rossia 24 state TV that a multi-layer security system in Sochi "was fully compatible" with IOC demands. He added that "it had proven its efficiency in test events there." Security Council Head Nikolai Patrushev said that "special services of several other nations would closely cooperate with Russian security agencies to protect the Sochi Games" (MOSCOW TIMES, 7/7).