MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The 2018 World Cup hosted by Russia is a very good opportunity to keep open channels for cooperation between Moscow and the West amid unease in current relations, according to UK Ambassador to Russia Laurie Bristow.
"We all know that Russia’s relations with [its] Western partners is going through a difficult period… Above all in difficult political times, we need to keep channels open. In the next twelve months there will be very important opportunities to do this, in particular the World Cup," Bristow said at the RBCC RussiaTalk Forum.
According to the ambassador, Russia and the United Kingdom have been working on coordinating law enforcement from both countries "so visitors from the UK can come to Russia, confident they will have a safe and enjoyable experience here."
Russia will host its first FIFA World Cup from June 14-July 15, 2018. The games will take place in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg and Sochi.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko said earlier that as many as five Russian cities, including Moscow, had finished preparations of all the facilities for the championship.
