Apart from Cabinet members and top officials of the Olympic construction corporation (Olympstroi), representatives of environmental bodies also attended.

Vladimir Putin's opening remarks:

Good afternoon.

We have gathered here to review the progress of work on the selection and preparation of Olympic facilities.

The starting idea was not only to make the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi a sports pageant for the country and the world, but also to give southern Russia a facelift, in particular the Greater Sochi area, where hundreds of thousands of Russians holiday every year.

This implied the improvement of all types of infrastructure - transport and energy - and the improvement of the environment, because all that we are making here must serve our people. To do otherwise would be to make the entire project pointless.

I would like to draw your attention to one point. We, and especially professional people, know that development and the environment are always in conflict. And the objective is to walk a balanced line between development and conservation. This is the topic we'll discuss today.

We have always believed - at least I have - that such questions should be aired in public with the utmost openness. Only in this case can we arrive at best possible solutions. Unfortunately, as Minister Yury Trutnev has told me, meaningful dialogue on the observance of environmental requirements seldom happens, and I wish it would. That is why I have invited you here, both those concerned directly with construction and those who look after the environment.

Let us begin. Who wants the floor first?

* * *

Concluding remarks by Vladimir Putin:

I wish to remind you that we have adopted a detailed plan for improving the environment in the area of the Greater Sochi area. Above all, it deals with construction and revamping of water purification facilities and recycling of municipal waste in the region of Greater Sochi. This costly project is bound to improve the environment in the region.

Next comes the Caucasian Biosphere Preserve. It is being allocated several hundred million roubles. The money will be used to establish a Khosta grove as a visiting place for day trippers and a nursery to grow unique plants of the western Caucasus, develop an environmental, educational and scientific screening procedure, set up an environmental research and teaching centre, and landscape the Sochi National Park.

The system on which Olympic facilities are to be based must involve no waste and be designed with a fresh eye.

Lastly, lawmakers have adopted an amendment to existing legislation which reinstates screening for environmental impact. I once again draw the attention of my associates to the fact that the re-establishment of this rule need not raise further bureaucratic hurdles. The screening must be quick and professional.

Today we discussed three Olympic sites: a bobsleigh and luge track, a mountain Olympic village, and a water intake point. I think we should bear in mind three factors in deciding on their construction: quality, cost, and deadlines.

To be frank, through poor coordination of steps we slipped up on the first requirement, that of quality. Quality presupposes not only the high standards of construction but also the soundness of the environment.

By taking half-baked decisions we have incurred certain financial losses. But money is not all: it goes but it can also come back, as people say. A bobsleigh and luge track is above all an engineering structure and can be built even on a plain. Thankfully we need not consider this option; there are other choices. It is simply a matter of finance.

Upsetting the balance of nature may create a situation you cannot get out of for love or money. So I consider it necessary to shift these facilities to other sites to be agreed with the International Olympic Committee. The construction deadlines approved by the IOC must be followed strictly. The corporation chairman said they will be kept and I accept his words.

I urge all those present here to keep up this constructive dialogue and listen to each other. We have not launched this project for fun, but to make the life of our people better and create incentives and conditions for healthy living. Conditions for those who live in the Greater Sochi area, and for all the citizens in this country, so that they can holiday in Russia and enjoy world-class standards, or even better. This means we should exercise the strictest caution in approaching these solutions. I repeat we should listen to each other. We should not create mutual obstacles, but listen to each other and at the same time act promptly.

I hope that this cooperation, especially on the environment, will no longer lead to any hiccoughs, however slight. If the process goes smoothly, we will achieve the results we want.

I want to thank you for today's discussion. I repeat: my wish is to see such meetings held regularly, even without my presence, particularly since we are to build many facilities and the region is environmentally sensitive. If we treat the environmental issues with care, I do not doubt that we will solve them all, completing Olympic facilities on time and with good quality.

Thank you very much.