MOSCOW -– FIFA President Joseph 'Sepp' Blatter's resignation shortly after his reelection for another term came as a surprise to Russia, but Moscow is continuing to work with him as long as he is performing his duties, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.
“We still don’t possess the information on what caused this resignation. We presume that Mr. Blatter is currently continuing to perform his duties until the next congress, and therefore our work and interaction with FIFA is continuing, and, most importantly, Russia is continuing preparations for the 2018 World Cup,” Peskov told journalists on June 3.
He reaffirmed that Blatter’s resignation was a surprise to Russia.
Moscow remains unmoved by suggestions that the 2018 World Cup should be boycotted. “No, we are not reacting. We are continuing preparations for 2018,” he said.
Asked whether Russia is worried that the next FIFA head could revise the decision on holding the next World Cups in Russia in 2018 and in Qatar in 2022, Peskov replied, “We don’t know who is going to be the new FIFA head. He will appear not tomorrow and not the day after tomorrow, but later, and therefore let’s not anticipate things,” he said.
Peskov refrained from commenting on media reports alleging that U.S. authorities might be seeking to prosecute Blatter. “The fact is that the situation is certainly complicated, and using the media as a source of information is probably the least appropriate thing to do,” Peskov said.
