The President said, in particular, in his telegram:
“That our country is hosting this prestigious competition is the result of the entire international sports community’s close cooperation. I want to thank the International Skating Union and the Russian Organising Committee for their rapid work to organise the tournament, and of course I wish our Japanese friends and the entire Japanese people courage and steadfastness in overcoming the natural disaster and its consequences.”
The 2011 world championship was originally to have taken place in Tokyo on March 21–27, but following the devastating earthquake that struck Japan on March 11, the International Skating Union and the championship’s organising committee decided to move the event to another country. Russia offered to host the championship in Moscow.