US Sanctions on Airport Owners Will Not Affect World Cup Transport - Minister

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - No problems for the transportation of the FIFA World Cup national teams will arise from the introduction of sanctions on owners of Russian airports by the United States, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said Friday.

“From our point of view, from the point of view of the Russian law, no problems can occur,” the transport minister told reporters on the sidelines of the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum, which kicked off on Thursday and will continue through Saturday.

On Thursday, the Reuters news agency reported that eight of the Russian airports that could be used by the football teams playing at the World Cup were owned by entities sanctioned by the United States after the latest update of the sanctions lists, which, according to the agency, could potentially create problems for the teams.

READ MORE: Russian PM Calls US Sanctions 'Unfair Competition,' Vows Moscow Could Appeal

Earlier this month, the United States introduced a new round of sanctions against several Russian businessmen and their companies, including Oleg Deripaska's Basic Element and Viktor Vekselberg's Renova Group.

The Basel Aero operates the airport in Sochi, as well as in Krasnodar and Anapa, both in close proximity to Sochi. The Airports of Regions group of companies, which is part of the Renova Group, operates the airports in Yekaterinburg, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, and Rostov-on-Don, all of which will host matches of the upcoming tournament.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be hosted by Russia for the first time ever from June 14 to July 15, with the games set to take place on a total of 12 arenas in 11 cities.