Security not a problem for Sochi, says Games chief

GENEVA (Reuters) - Security will not be a problem at the 2014 Winter Olympics at the Russian resort of Sochi, Games chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said on Wednesday.

"Sochi is the summer residence of our president and prime minister, that says everything," Chernyshenko told reporters in Geneva.

"This is one of the safest and most secure places in Russia and it's the state with the highest security level."

The Black Sea resort is only miles from the border with Georgia's separatist region of Abkhazia.

Chernyshenko added that the outcome of last month's mayoral election in the city clearly showed the local people supported the Olympics.

Incumbent mayor Anatoly Pakhomov, representing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, won with 77 percent of the vote in an election rivals said marked a new low for Russia's democracy.

Defeated liberal candidate Boris Nemtsov said the result was massively inflated, and vowed to challenge it in court.

"Everything went in accordance with Russian law, it was very transparent and it was observed by international groups," said Chernyshenko.

"The result showed that the people were supporting the mayor, who was acting mayor and who is supporting the Games.

"The figures we received from a recent survey are that about 70 to 80 percent of the people support the Games," he said.

Chernyshenko promised that the infrastructure would be ready two years in advance and the international financial crisis would not be a hurdle to the successful staging of the event.

"We are working to build all the competition venues by 2012, two years before the Games," he said. "Afterwards, there will be a great legacy for generations to come."

"At the moment, Sochi is a huge construction site.

"Russia is committed to these Games," he added. "We consider Sochi to be a catalyst for positive change."

Chernyshenko listed the environment as a priority for organizers.

"We have moved several events to less environmentally sensitive areas, we are committed to protecting the environment," he said.

(Editing by Alison Wildey)