Sochi, the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held next month, has "no gays" live in the city, according to its Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov.

"It is not accepted here in the Caucasus where we live," Pakhomov said to BBC's Panorama Program. "We do not have them in our city."

During his interview with BBC before the conduct of the 2014 Winter Olympics, Pakhomov said that gays are welcome at the games as long as they "respect the laws of the Russian Federation and [don't] impose their habits on others," reports the Huffington Post.

Admitting that gay people do not have to hide their sexuality in Sochi, he admitted he isn't 100% sure there are no gays but "I don't bloody know them."

Russia has passed a controversial law last June 2013 that makes it illegal to promote or disseminate information of "nontraditional sexual relations" or "relations not conducive to procreation" to minors or people under the age of 18. Crimes are punishable by a fine.

Putin has said earlier that gays would be welcome at the Black Sea resort for the games and there is no discrimination in Russia, recalls the Moscow Times. Russia has frequently defended its law justifying that it was designed to protect children and will have no bearing on visitors to the Olympic Games.

A number of celebrities have already called for a boycott of the Sochi games including Lady Gaga. When Putin was asked about the issue a week ago said he had friends who were gay and was actually a fan of British singer Elton John.

Responding to the report, opposition leader Boris Nemtsov noted that there were actually multiple gay bars located in Sochi. This was confirmed by BBC reporter John Sweeney who noted that he visited a Sochi gay bar the night before he interviewed Mayor Pakhomov.