Afghan President Hamid Karzai heads to Sochi for opening ceremony of Winter Games
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai is travelling to Russia to attend Friday's opening ceremony of the Winter Games in Sochi.
The Afghan presidential palace said in a statement Friday that Karzai and his high-level delegation were invited by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It added that Karzai will meet with Putin, China's president and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon while he is in Russia.
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Karzai's trip is expected to last one day.
Some prominent leaders — including U.S. President Barack Obama — are staying away from Sochi, upset at a law that Putin championed barring homosexual "propaganda" aimed at minors that has been used to more widely discriminate against gays.
But organizers say some 66 leaders — including heads of state and international organizations — are joining the games.