Russia has snubbed the FBI’s offer to secure the 2014 Sochi Olympics by showing reluctance in accepting 100 personnel offered by the federal agency.
The FBI’s legal attache in Moscow, David Rubincam, said he doesn’t believe Russia has made the most of its opportunity to utilize the federal agency’s technical expertise, the Washington Post reports.
Although the Russians are planning to deploy roughly 40,000 heavily armed police and security personnel at the Games, the security risks are regarded as unusually high.
The country is on high alert since last month’s suicide bombings in Volgograd that killed 34 and the hunt for a “black widow” terrorist thought to be roaming in Sochi as a suicide bomber.
The U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning for Americans traveling to the Winter Olympics, which begins February 7.
Meanwhile, the main threat emanates from Islamic radicals, who are based in the nearby Caucasus and who have vowed to launch attacks during the event. (ANI)