Russia’s sports minster has claimed that the concern and controversy in the international community regarding Russia’s anti-gay laws are “an invented problem” created by the Western mass media.

Vitaly Mutko said: “I think this is kind of an invented problem. We don’t have a law banning non-traditional sexual relations, we have a different law.

“It is the informational protection of the young generation. We want to prevent the young generation, whose psyche has not been formulated. We want to protect them against drunkenness, drugs and non-traditional sexual relations. We want them to grow up and when they become adults they have to define what they want.

“This is a law for the protection of children, but this law is not intended against anybody. It does not deprive anyone of their privacy or private life. I think mass media outside of Russia focus on this law more than they do in Russia.

“So I can say welcome to Russia, welcome to Sochi and all the rights and freedoms of all the people will be protected and will be secured, We are not going to deprive anybody.”

Mutko is the chairman of the Moscow 2013 Organising Committee and was responding to the mounting pressure and scrutiny focused on Russian authorities as several athletes have made public displays of defiance against the law.