2 Jun 2015 13:47

Lavrov not thinking FIFA corruption inquiry aims to strip Russia of 2018 World Cup

MOSCOW. June 2 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov does not think that a corruption inquiry opened against the world's football body FIFA is an attempt to strip Russia of its right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

"I don't think that one is now targeting the World Cup in Russia," he said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that the timing of the announcement about the FIFA corruption investigation indicated that its goal was to disrupt the FIFA presidential election, Lavrov said.