MOSCOW: The Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said on Friday that 66 leaders of the countries including China, Japan and Italy would attend the opening ceremony of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
“A very large number of leaders have given their consent. We have counted about 60 heads of state and government,” Ushakov told journalists on Friday.
Ushakov said that the heads of key international organizations including the United Nations also confirmed their participation in the opening ceremony.
“The foreign representation at the opening ceremony will be quite solid,” he said.
Ushakov said that President Vladimir Putin will have stand-up meetings with a lot of chiefs of state. However, he said, no meeting with the members of the US delegation is planned as the US did not make a relevant request.
The 22nd Winter Olympics are slated for February 7-23 with competition for 98 sets of medals. The Paralympics are to take place on March 7-16.
