Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach at the opening ceremony- Photo: AFP

(VOVworld)- The 22^nd Winter Olympics opened with a spectacular ceremony in the Russian resort city of Sochi on Friday. The glittering show was broadcst live to more than 3 billion TV viewers. UN Chief Ban Ki Moon and leaders from 60 countries and 40,000 members of audience participated at the opening ceremony. Russian President Putin was speaking at a banquet honoring countries whose athletes were participating:“The 22^nd Winter Olympics is not only a major game festival but a symbol of unity, openness and mutual understanding of millions in the world. I am pleased to see that the opening day of the festival coincides with Syria ’s decision to open passages for humanitarian activities. I am grateful to the Olympics Committee and the United Nations for their effort to make conflicting parties reach this agreement”

In his talks with Tajikistan President the same day, Mr Putin called for more cooperation in military and trade. In separate talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, both agreed to boost bilateral trade revenue to 100 billion dollars shortly. President Putin has met several other leaders during the first day of the Olympics.