"The secretary-general had conveyed to the (Chinese) government some months ago that he may not be in a position to accept the invitation to attend this important event due to scheduling issues," Ban's spokeswoman, Marie Okabe, said Thursday.

She did not say what the scheduling issue was, reported KUNA, the Kuwaiti news agency.

Leaders of several countries have announced they will boycott the opening ceremonies in Beijing because of China's record on human rights and its violent crackdown in Tibet.