Kyiv won't object if Russia is stripped off the right to host 2018 FIFA World Cup, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Pavlo Klimkin has said.
“One can’t mix sports and politics, but in this case, the question if
Russia can host this large event obviously needs to be considered. I
sympathize with politicians’ call to boycott this World Cup,” Klimkin
said in an interview with Bild German newspaper.
According to him, Russian President Vladimir Putin is “the only one who can stop the war in eastern Ukraine.”
“The majority of terrorists are actually Russian citizens, many of
whom are connected to the Russian special services. They aren’t fighting
for the independence of Donbas, they’re destroying everything,” the
minister noted.
According to Klimkin, it is extremely clear that there’s no civil
conflict in Donbas, there are terrorists occupying this region of
Ukraine, and Russia must stop supporting separatists, then Ukrainian
government will quickly establish order there. He also said that moods
of Donbas people showed hatred towards militants.
In addition, Ukrainian Foreign Minister thinks that today it’s
necessary to classify these militants as terrorists at the international
level.
“We made a decisive step towards this at the last meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels,” Klimkin said.
As for the Crimean issue, the minister said that the issue was on the agenda and Ukraine would fight for Crimea.
“It’s Ukrainian, and it will belong to Ukraine once again,” Klimkin said.
