China's Xi Jinping and Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovych will attend but many in west have been put off by Russia's anti-gay laws

There will be no Barack Obama, no David Cameron and no Angela Merkel in the stadium when the Winter Olympics open in Sochi on Friday, but Vladimir Putin will at least be able to enjoy the company of China's president, Xi Jinping, Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, and Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as well as the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon.

The Kremlin hoped to see dozens of world leaders at the opening ceremony, but the Winter Olympics is not regarded as a "must attend" event, and many in the west have been put off by controversy in the buildup to the Games, notably the passing of a new law banning "gay propaganda".

Italy and the Netherlands are among the few European countries to send high-level representation to Sochi. The Italian prime minister, Enrico Letta, will attend the opening ceremony, as will the Dutch king, Willem-Alexander. The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, is due to meet Putin in Sochi, despite a highly turbulent year for Dutch-Russian relations and calls from the country's gay community to boycott the Games.

Thomas Bach. Photograph: Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty

Thomas Bach, head of the International Olympic Committee, hit out at foreign leaders boycotting the Games, accusing them of making an "ostentatious gesture" that "costs nothing but makes international headlines".

Bach, speaking in front of Putin and IOC officials from around the world, said: "We are grateful to those who respect the fact that sport can only contribute to the development of peace if it's not used as a stage for political dissent, or for trying to score points in internal or external contexts."

He spoke caustically of those who decided not to attend the Olympics, saying their "contribution to the fight for a good cause consisted of publicly declining invitations they had not even received".

In a clear rebuke to Russia over its anti-gay laws, the US is sending a delegation that includes two openly gay athletes – the 2006 Olympic ice hockey medallist Caitlin Cahow and the figure skater Brian Boitano. Tennis legend Billie Jean King had been chosen to help lead the delegation, but stepped down on Wednesday because her mother is ill.

Billie Jean King was chosen to help lead the US delegation to Sochi, but will no longer attend because her mother is ill. Photograph: Jason DeCrow/AP

Norway announced that its health minister, Bent Hoeie, who is gay, would head its official delegation to the Paralympics, which begin in March, and would travel with his husband.

Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, is also likely to attend the ceremony. He shares Putin's passion for ice hockey and took part in a practice match with Putin at the Olympic hockey arena last month.

Viktor Yanukovych. Photograph: Janek Skarzynski/AFP/Getty

The embattled leader of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, is likely to meet Putin at some point in the coming days, according to the Russian president's spokesman. Yanukovych's decision to abandon European integration and pursue closer links with Russia led to the anti-government protests that have rocked Kiev for the past two months.

A spokeswoman for Leonid Tibilov, the president of South Ossetia, said he had been invited to the opening ceremony and to a reception for heads of state. Russia recognised South Ossetia as independent after the 2008 war with Georgia, but the territory is not allowed to compete in the Games.

At the same time Russia also recognised Abkhazia, another breakaway province of Georgia, which has a border a few miles from Sochi. Georgia has not sent a government delegation to the Games in protest, but is sending four athletes.

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