Some Winter Olympics sites to be relocated

MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Thursday ordered organizers of the 2014 Winter Olympics to relocate a number of planned facilities, including the bobsled track and a village for athletes, away from protected wilderness.

Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund and other environmental groups had objected that some of the proposed construction near the Russian resort of Sochi would take place right on the border of a U.N.-designated World Heritage Site. The facilities would damage local wildlife and plants and open up a pristine area in the Caucasus Mountains to further development, the groups contended.

Greenpeace proposed a series of alternative sites in the mountains above the Black Sea resort, but federal officials and local organizers rejected their suggestions as impractical.

"In setting our priorities and choosing between money and the environment, we're choosing the environment," said Putin during a meeting in Sochi with Jean-Claude Killy, chairman of the International Olympic Committee's coordinating commission for the 2014 Games. "If the balance of nature is upset, this could lead to a situation that would be impossible to restore for any money."

Thursday's unexpected move was another reminder of the former president's continuing power and ability to sweep aside the long-held plans of officials.

"The first Olympic victory goes to nature in the Caucasus," the World Wildlife Fund said in an statement.

Russia is planning to spend at least $12 billion on the Olympics.

Also

The White House said Thursday that President Bush would attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in August, a decision that quickly drew criticism from critics of China's human rights record. The leaders of Britain and Germany have said they will skip the opening ceremony.