MOSCOW, April 18 (R-Sport) – President Vladimir Putin called the bombings at the Boston Marathon a “heinous crime” during a public address before Russia played the United States at the under-18 world hockey championships on Thursday.
Putin reminded the crowd at Sochi's Bolshoi Ice Dome that the two countries are on-ice foes - but the tragedy that claimed three lives and injured hundreds, he said, surmounts any sporting rivalry.
“The terrorist attack in Boston actually occurred during an international sporting event, making it a particularly heinous crime,” Putin told the crowd at Sochi’s Bolshoi Ice Dome. “On behalf of the Russian people, we bring words of condolence and sympathy to the people of the United States, to all the victims and families of the victims.”
The address was followed by a minute of silence.
In the wake of Monday's bombings, Putin offered to help the U.S. in its ongoing investigation, a show of diplomatic goodwill from a government that has been at odds with the Americans in recent weeks over a blacklist accusing several Russian officials of human rights violations.
Earlier Thursday, the government’s Olympic supervisor Dmitry Kozak said Russia has no plans to implement extra security measures at the Sochi 2014 Winter Games in the wake of the marathon bombings.
