MOSCOW, Feb. 23 -- An International Olympic Committee (IOC) evaluation commission said on Friday that Sochi has many strong points for the bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics but there also are reasons to consider turning down its bid.

One of the strongest points of Sochi's hosting bid is that it enjoys the support of the Russian president and government, the Sochi population, Russia's athletic community, and the country's population in general, IOC Vice President Chiharu Igaya, who heads the commission, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

Another strong point are Russian athletes' top achievements in winter sports, he said, citing 133 gold medals won by Russians at the last four Winter Olympics.

However, there are also reasons for doubting the success of Sochi's bid, one of them is that the city may not have enough timeto build all the facilities for the games, Igaya said.

Another are Sochi's alleged environmental problems, Igaya said, adding that this had been a subject for talks and that he expectedthat a compromise would be found.

He said the commission had been able to visit the potential sites for all the contests.

Sochi Mayor Viktor Kolodyazhny was quoted by the Itar-Tass newsagency as saying that Sochi is possible to build all Olympic facilities in less than seven years.

"Not only local companies, but also renowned builders from all Russian regions and abroad will take part in the project. I can guarantee that all sports facilities will be ready by 2012," he said after Igaya's briefing.