Portuguese president to arrive in Russia in late June for 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup - ambassador
MOSCOW. May 29 (Interfax) - Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and some other leading Portuguese politicians will visit Russia in June to watch 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup matches, Portuguese Ambassador in Moscow Mario Godinho de Matos said.
"Relations between Russia and Portugal are undergoing a highly positive phase. We have a perfect bilateral relationship. For instance, this is evident from the fact that our three major statesmen - the president, the parliament speaker and the prime minister - will arrive here in late June for the Confederations Cup matches," the Govorit Moskva radio station quoted the ambassador as saying.
"One of them will watch a match in Kazan, another in Moscow, and the third in St. Petersburg. This visit of Portuguese leaders to Moscow demonstrates the level of trust maintained between our countries," the ambassador said.
Several hundred Portuguese soccer fans will also come to Russia to support their team at the FIFA Confederations Cup, he said.
"I believe they have nothing to fear. We are encouraging our fans to visit Russia. I am positive they should have no fear. To my knowledge, several hundred are already planning a visit," he said.
"The only issue is that the Confederations Cup is a less known tournament than the World Cup, and Portugal has yet to formally qualify for the latter. Hopefully, it will pass the qualifications and participate in this championship, and Portuguese fans will arrive here," he said.
The Portuguese national team will play against Russia, New Zealand and Mexico in the Confederations Cup's Group A.
The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup will be hosted by Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi in the period from June 17 through July 2.