MOSCOW, January 23. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov has called the actions of a number of countries that are trying to discredit the Sochi Olympics, unscrupulous and arrogant.

He said in an interview to the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily, “I think that you will agree with me that some countries act totally unscrupulously and arrogantly, trying to politically discredit our Olympics in Sochi,” Peskov said.

He said, “Mud is thrown at us daily, and our media, unfortunately, quote every kind of verbiage on this matter.” “Beginning from statements that it is Putin’s personal project... Even asserting — who needs this (the Winter Olympics) in a subtropical zone? In fact, some Western counter-propagandists (let’s call them so) claim that actually, Russia intends to hold the Olympics in a place where Russian tsars were oppressing the poor Caucasian nations,” the Russian leader’s press secretary said in wonder.

Peskov asked himself: “Isn’t it time to respond to these strange invectives?”

He also said that the strong, successful, wealthy and healthy, “such as we are now,” are often disliked by others.

“I think that when this sports gala, as high-flown as it sounds, takes place, all the answers to these questions, I hope, will be given,” Peskov said.