MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered new assurances to gay athletes and fans attending the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics next month. Yet he defended Russias anti-gay law by equating gays with pedophiles and said Russia needs to "cleanse" itself of homosexuality if it wants to increase its birth rate. Putins comments in an interview broadcast Sunday with Russian and foreign television stations showed the wide gulf between the perception of homosexuality in Russia versus the West. A Russian law passed last year banning "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" among minors has caused an international outcry. Putin refused to answer a question from the BBC on whether he believes that people are born gay or become gay. The Russian law, however, suggests that information about homosexuality can influence a childs sexual orientation. The law has contributed to growing animosity toward gays in Russian society, with rights activists reporting a rise in harassment and abuse. International worries about how gays will be treated in Sochi have been met with assurances from Russian officials and Olympics organizers that there will be no discrimination, and Putin reiterated that stance. "There are no fears for people with this nontraditional orientation who plan to come to Sochi as guests or participants," Putin declared in the TV interview. He said the law was aimed at banning propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia, suggesting that gays are more likely to abuse children. Making another favourite argument against homosexuality, Putin noted with pride that Russia saw more births than deaths last year for the first time in two decades. Population growth is vital for Russias development and "anything that gets in the way of that we should clean up," he said, using a word usually reserved for military operations. The law on propaganda has been used to justify barring gay pride rallies on the grounds that children might see them. This has raised the question of how athletes and fans would be treated for any gay-rights protests during the Olympics. When asked about this by the ABC TV channel, Putin said protests against the law itself would not be considered propaganda. Putin then hit back, accusing the United States of double standards in its criticism of Russia, pointing to laws that remain on the books in some U.S. states classifying gay sex as a crime. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, ruled in 2003 that such laws were unconstitutional. Homosexuality was a crime in the entire former Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991. It was decriminalized in Russia in 1993. The Sochi Winter Olympics run Feb. 7-23. 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Were watching video and taking swings in the cage and stretching and making sure were ready to go." Finally on the field, the Cardinals emerged from their two-game hitting slump by knocking Homer Bailey (0-1) out of the game in the fifth inning. Jhonny Peralta homered to get it going. It wasnt perfect -- St. Louis stranded eight runners -- but it was much better. "We had a lot of opportunities that we missed, too," manager Mike Matheny said. "We had a lot of guys in scoring position." St. Louis pulled away with three runs in the seventh, when Matt Hollidays single off the top of the outfield wall was upheld by the only video review of the series, this one initiated by the umpires. Lance Lynn (1-0) gave up Jay Bruces two-run homer and Fraziers solo shot during five innings. Frazier added a three-run homer in the seventh that cut it to 7-6. Trevor Rosenthal got the last four outs for his second save. The series involved nearly as much waiting as playing. There was a 2-hour, 40-minute delay before Wednesdays game, a 1-0 victory by Cincinnati. Along with the delay on Thursday, the teams wound up waiting 6 hours, 22 minutes to play during the two days. As Thursdays delay stretched on, Reds reliever Sam LeCure tweeted: "Uncle." "The whole series was kind of weird with all the rain and stuff," Frazier said. "It really put a damperr on things.dddddddddddd" The starters had a rough time after the delay. Lynn beat the Reds three times last season, but couldnt get a 1-2-3 inning on Thursday. Bruce and Frazier hit back-to-back homers in the first for a 3-0 lead. Even Bailey had a single off Lynn, who gave up eight hits while throwing 107 pitches. Peralta hit a two-run homer in the second off Bailey, and the Cardinals tied it with a breakthrough hit in the fourth. Adams doubled and came around on Jon Jays double, the Cardinals first hit with a runner in scoring position this season. They had been 0 for 17. Jays hit also extended his hitting streak to 15 games, including the end of last season. Hollidays first hit of the season, an RBI double, put the Cardinals up 4-3 in the fifth. Bailey lasted only 4 1-3 innings, giving up seven hits, three walks and four runs. The Cardinals added three in the seventh, when they loaded the bases on a pair of walks and Hollidays single off the top of the wall. The ball went over Billy Hamiltons glove and deflected to Bruce, who caught the ball. The umpires correctly ruled that it a hit off the top of the wall, and a 2-minute, 8-second review initiated by the umps upheld the call. They wanted to make sure the ball hadnt cleared the wall. Allen Craig and Yadier Molina followed with RBI singles as St. Louis pulled ahead 7-3. NOTES: The game ended 7 hours, 23 minutes after it was originally scheduled to start. ... Shelby Miller starts for the Cardinals in Pittsburgh on Friday against Gerrit Cole. Mike Leake goes for the Reds in New York against the Mets Jenrry Mejia. ... Adams dived into the stands trying to catch a foul ball, and pushed a fan who reached up and caught it before he could get it. "I was trying to stop myself from going into the stands," Adams said. "People came up to me and said I shoved him. I didnt even know. Im not that type of guy to go after anybody." ... It was Fraziers fourth career multihomer game. ... Hamilton walked in the eighth inning, reaching base for the first time this season. He is 0 for 12 with six strikeouts. ' ' '