The composition of the US delegation was declared at the Sochi Olympics

The US delegation at the opening of the Olympics in Sochi will be headed by the head of the University of California, ex-Minister of Internal Security Janet Napolitano, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the White House statement.

At the opening ceremony on February 7, 2014, US President Robert Neyborx, the famous tennis player Billy Jin King and the Olympic figure skating champion Brian Boytano will also be present. At the closure of the games on February 23, the American delegation will be headed by the first deputy secretary William Burns.

In addition to him, the closing ceremony will be visited by the five -time Olympic champion in the skating sports of Bonnie Blair, the silver and bronze medalist of the Olympiad in women's hockey Kaitlin Kahou and the five -time Olympic skating champion Eric Hayden.

The composition of both delegations will include US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFol.

Thus, for the first time since 2000, there are no president, the first lady, vice president or former president of the country since 2000, USA Today notes. In a statement by the White House, it is noted that the schedule of President Obama does not allow him to go to Sochi. "President Obama is extremely proud of our American athletes and intends to support them from Washington," the statement said.

At the opening of the US Summer Olympiad in the United States, the wife of the American leader Michelle Obama represented, at the opening of the previous Winter Olympiad in Vancouver, Vice President Joseph Biden. In 2008, the delegation at the Beijing Olympics was headed by George Bush, who then held the president’s post.

As the Voice of America notes, the Barack Obama administration sent an unambiguous signal to the Kremlin by appointing several open gays to the official delegation. In particular, the government delegation included the former tennis star Billy Jin King, one of the first athletes who admitted their homosexual orientation. Another athlete-Lesbiyanka, a two-time member of the Olympic Games Hockey player Kaitlin Keikhou, will represent the United States at the closing ceremony of the competition.

“The US delegation at the Olympic Games is designed to demonstrate the diverse nature of the United States,” said the White House representative Josh Ernest. “All delegation members are known for their achievements in public service, civic activity or sports.”

The day before, it became known that Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo will also not come to the Olympics in Sochi. The spokeswoman Di Rupo explained that the decision of the prime minister should not be regarded as a boycott of games, since visiting the competition was not initially included in his work schedule. Chris Peters, Minister -President of Flanders, one of the three regions of the country, does not intend to come to the Olympics. It was reported that his visit to Sochi was also not planned from the very beginning.

On Sunday, it became known that at the opening of games in Sochi is ignored by France President Francois Hollande. As explained by the head of the country's Foreign Ministry, Laurent Fabius, at the ceremony "The presence of the President of France is not provided." The minister added that he himself would not come in Sochi either.

Fabius did not explain whether such a decision of Hollande is related to the action of a homophobic law in Russia, which has been criticized by European politicians repeatedly. Hollande is known as an active fighter for LGBT rights. In 2013, in France, despite mass protests, a law was adopted on the legalization of same -sex marriages.

Earlier, the Boycot of the Olympics was announced by Germany President Joachim Gauk. The presidential administration explained that the decision should be understood as criticism of human rights violations and a protest against opposition repressions in Russia.

It is also known that the first persons of Poland will not come to the opening of the Olympics. The president of the country Bronislav Komorovsky said that he was not going to go to Sochi, because "games begin to cause emotions not only sports, but also political." Prime Minister Donald Tusk also refused the trip. At the same time, both Komorovsky and Tusk were asked by the media not to call their decision boycott.

She refused to travel to Sochi and the vice president of the European Commission Vivian Reading. On her twitter, the official explained the boycott by the adoption of discriminatory homophobic law in Russia. Reading - Commissioner of the European Union for Justice and Fundamental Rights.

Among the American politicians who called for the boycott of the Olympics in Sochi, the Senator from the Republican Party Lindsay Graham.

Representatives of Russia, including the preparation for the Olympiad, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, Minister of Sports Vitaly Mutko, representative of the Foreign Ministry Konstantin Dolgov repeatedly stated that nothing threatens LGBT participants. At the same time, they all emphasized that the authorities expect from athletes and guests of the games of strict observance of Russian laws.