Russia's Putin sacks official over Olympic delays

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (2nd R) listens to Interros Company President Vladimir Potanin (2nd L), with Sochi 2014 chief Dmitry Chernyshenko (L) and deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak (R) standing nearby, as he visits the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center in Rosa Khutor outside the Black Sea resort of Sochi, February 6, 2013.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin dismissed a senior Russian Olympic Committee official on Thursday because of delays in construction work for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Putin had criticized Akhmed Bilalov, the vice president of Russia's Olympic Committee, after he was told of the delays at the ski jumping venue and that costs had risen.

"People who do not fulfill their obligations on such a scale cannot lead the Olympic movement in our country," Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak told reporters in Sochi.

(Reporting by Alexei Anishchuk, Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel, Editing by Timothy Heritage)