Russia: Joint effort foiled Sochi terror plot

The women suspected in the conspiracy were arrested in France and Austria in 2014, Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said before the upper house of Russia's parliament on Monday.

Russian authorities implemented extremely tight security measures during the Sochi Winter Olympics for fears of terror attacks. The officials were particularly concerned over threats from nearby Chechnya and other restive Caucasus republics.

Moscow established coordination between representatives of "82 security services from 62 countries" during the run-up to the Games, according to Syromolotov, who is also involved in counterterrorism efforts.

"When serious terrorist threats surfaced, including one involving an airplane, five agencies probed them in four different countries," Syromolotov said."The suspect were detained at the eve of the Olympics in Austria and France."

Bombs and cosmetics

The officials also discovered detonators, allegedly coming from Syria, according to the Syromolotov.

"The female suicide bombers discovered in France has schematics on hiding explosive materials, they put the explosive device in a box of hand cream," he added.

Previously, the Russian FSB security service said that many countries had helped to prevent an array of attacks on Sochi, primarily Austria, France, Germany, Georgia and the US. However, the officials did not provide details on the international achievement.

Earlier on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the UK Prime Minister David Cameron that the Kremlin and London should combine forces in fighting terrorism in the aftermath of the Paris attacks.

dj/kms (AP, dpa, Reuters, Interfax)