President off to Russia for Olympic ceremony

KABUL (Pajhwok): President Hamid Karzai on Friday flew to Russia to attend the opening ceremony for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, his office said.

For the first time, Russia is hosting the Winter Olympic Games, which are scheduled to be played from Feb. 7 to 22 in Sochi city of Krasnodar.

A statement from the Presidential Palace said Karzai, accompanied by his foreign minister and national security advisor, was heading a high-level delegation to Russia at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

On the sidelines of the mega event, Karzai will meet Putin, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who are already in the Russian city.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, the Sochi committee chief, says 65 heads of state and government and international organisations are expected to attend the Winter Olympics.

US President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron and German President Joachim Gauck will attend the mega event.

mud

Visits: 0