President of the Russian Olympic Committee met with Vladimir Putin in Novo-Ogarevo today. The head of the state congratulated Stanislav Pozdnyakov on his election as the head of the ROC and wished him success in his work.
Vladimir Putin:
– In recent years, much has been done in Russian sports. We have achieved good, bright results and victories, as evidenced, at least so far, by the way this World Cup is being organized. Our previous achievements speak for it as well.
But there are also many problems in Russian sport. I very much hope that your knowledge and your own sports experience will enable us to take next steps in the organization of Russian sports. To do this, we need to work actively with the federations, the Sports Ministry, the Government, public organizations, people, media and, of course, with our foreign colleagues, including the International Olympic Committee.
Stanislav Pozdnyakov:
– Thank you very much, Mr. President, for your congratulations. It is a great honour for me to head the Russian Olympic Committee. As a person who has devoted all his life to sports in different forms, I see notable progress in this field. And I would like to thank you personally for your systematic and attentive approach to the development of sports.
I would also like to congratulate you and all Russian people and all fans, on the successful start of the Russian team at the World Cup and the excellent organization of the tournament.
Vladimir Putin:
– Now there are good results in other areas as well.
Stanislav Pozdnyakov:
– Yes, there is something to be proud of. Today is the last day of the European Fencing Championship, held in Serbia, and six of the twelve gold medals were won by our athletes.
Of course, this is our common achievement, a systematic approach to the preparation of national teams. As President of the Russian Olympic Committee I am ready to apply one of the models, that I used in my previous work, when training fencers.
You have rightly noted that the international activities of the Russian Olympic Committee should be our priority. In this context, the ROC is a kind of institution of sports diplomacy. Once the ROC’s right were fully restored at the end of February, the main task is, of course, to regain the international partners’ confidence in our organization and its activities.
Now we are preparing a number of proposals to the IOC department, the Olympic Solidarity Commission with a certain number of activities that we are ready to implement in Russia together with the IOC.
Another important point is, of course, the preparation for the next Olympic Games. Tokyo 2020 Games are just around the corner. Of course, we should take a clear and coordinated approach to this work together with the Ministry of Sports, the all-Russian sports federations and other structures. And, of course, it is necessary to think about how we will prepare for the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games.
We are facing a lot of serious tasks that will require your support and your attentive, as I said, attitude to the sport.
