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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, we already had a chance to discuss the current Olympic Games. Yesterday we met with heads of international sports federations. Yesterday and today actually mark the middle of the  Background information Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics Olympic Games. I expect everything is proceeding according to plan. I would very much like to hear your assessment.

President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach (translated from Russian): Mr President, I believe you have heard this from all the people you have spoken to: everybody says the Games have been wonderfully organised and they are being held successfully.

All the athletes are happy with how the events are organised at the sports facilities; they like the facilities, the Olympic villages, and are happy that the facilities are located in close proximity to the Olympic villages.

The Games are organised so well and everything is proceeding so smoothly that we do not even need to hold regular coordination meetings: there are no problems, therefore we have nothing to discuss.

Besides, I would like to note the large TV audience: the number has reached a record high; fans all over the world are following the Olympic Games. Fans on all five continents in over 200 countries are watching the Olympic Games.

The number of viewers exceeds that of all the previous Olympics and events. The ratings of TV channels are also higher than ever before. Therefore, I can only congratulate you and thank you for this.

”There is still plenty of work ahead. This is mainly organisational work that has to do with the maintenance of all the sports facilities in order to keep them in a condition required for holding sports competitions. Besides, we have to create conditions for journalists and perform purely organisational work that has to do with transportation, power supply and so on“.

Vladimir Putin: I would also like to thank you and all your colleagues – members of the International Olympic Committee. Mr Killy and Mr Felly have made this place sort of their home for all these years. I remember how many comments there were during the first and second years, even fears over how the preparations were proceeding. Even at the very end, when we had to bring everything to perfection there were still quite a few issues. I am very happy to hear your assessment, to know that everything is proceeding according to our plan.

However, there is still plenty of work ahead. This is mainly organisational work that has to do with the maintenance of all the sports facilities in order to keep them in a condition required for holding sports competitions. Besides, we have to create conditions for journalists and perform purely organisational work that has to do with transportation, power supply and so on. There are still very many things to take care of. I expect everything to proceed in the same way it has been proceeding so far.

Among other things, I think the work of the volunteers is very important. I hear only positive assessment of their efforts.

I would also like to use this opportunity to thank in your presence the fans from all over the world: Russian fans and those from other countries who are all part of one big family of sports fans. I would like to thank all fans – primarily those from Russia, and our guests from other countries who create this unique atmosphere of friendship and cooperation.

Thomas Bach: Thank you, Mr President. You mentioned volunteers, and I believe volunteers are one of the main advantages of this Olympics. They are very friendly, always smiling and always ready to help. It is always a pleasure to see them and they only confirm the strong traditions of hospitality in Russia.

I would like to say that we are absolutely confident that the next Olympic week will be as successful as the previous one, because the past one was excellent in terms of organisation.

Thus, today, when it was very warm even in the mountains, the slopes were nevertheless very well prepared. I would like to note here that both the Organising Committee and the international federations are doing their job, and whenever problems occur, they take care of them. Even Mr Killy was very satisfied. I believe he can say it all in Russian now.

Vladimir Putin: I am sure he can. Thank you very much.