Almost 50 MEPs call for boycott of 2018 World Cup in Russia

Forty-six members of the European Parliament have signed a letter calling on EU governments to declare a diplomatic boycott of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Radio Liberty correspondent in Brussels Rikard Jozwiak has said.

"Forty-six members of the European Parliament have so far signed a letter addressed to all EU government urging a diplomatic boycott of the World Cup 2018 in Russia," he wrote on Twitter.

In addition to calling for a boycott, the letter cites the reasons that led to such a decision.

"As long as Putin is illegally occupying Crimea, holding Ukrainian political prisoners and supporting the war in eastern Ukraine, we cannot pretend that this tournament's host is our welcoming neighbor," the document reads.

Eight countries have already expressed their intention to boycott the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which will be held from June 15 to July 14.

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