( CNN ) -- No prominent world leaders at the Sochi Olympics in two months ? No problem , according to Russia 's Olympics chief . US President Barack Obama , French President Francois Hollande and German President Joachim Gauck -- among others -- are all staying away from the winter Games but Alexander Zhukov is n't concerned . `` The point is the competition and not that 20 or 30 leaders come to the opening ceremony , '' Zhukov , Russia 's former deputy prime minister , was quoted as saying by Russian news agency RIA Novosti on Tuesday . It was announced last week that Obama would n't be attending because of his schedule . In August , however , he openly criticized Russia 's anti-gay propaganda law . `` Nobody is more offended than me by some of the anti-gay and lesbian legislation that you 've been seeing in Russia , '' he said . `` I 've spoken out against that , not just with respect to Russia , but a number of other countries where we continue to do work with them , but we have a strong disagreement on this issue . '' And Obama last week named tennis great Billie Jean King , who is gay , to the U.S. delegation at the Olympics . Gauck reportedly is giving Sochi a miss to protest against human rights violations while French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said last week Hollande 's attendance at the Games had `` not been planned . ''
Alexander Zhukov says the absence of world leaders in U.S. wo n't diminish the Games . `` The point is the competition itself , '' according to the French Olympic chief . Russia President Francois Hollande and French President Alexander Zhukov will be no shows . Russia 's anti-gay propaganda law `` offended '' Obama , he said in August .