Downing
Street warns Kremlin to change course in Ukraine, but stops short of Nick
Clegg's call for outright 2018 boycott
The Guardian, Rowena Mason, political correspondent, Sunday 27 July 2014
 |
| Vladimir Putin – pictured here with the presidents of Brazil and Fifa, Dilma Rouseff and Sepp Blatter – is under pressure over Russia's hosting of the 2018 World Cup. Photograph: Alexei Nikolsky/AP |
David Cameron does not currently believe Russia should be stripped of hosting the
2018 World Cup but is not surprised the issue is being raised, Downing Street
says.
The prime
minister held back from calling for the football tournament to be taken away from
Russia after Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, said it was
"unthinkable" that the contest could be held there if the country's
belligerence continues.
Labour's
shadow foreign secretary, Douglas Alexander, urged football's governing body,
Fifa, to draw up contingency plans for the event to be held elsewhere.
Some German
politicians have already called for the 2018 World Cup bidding contest to be
re-run after international condemnation of Russia over its reaction to the
crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine.
The Kremlin
denies that any of its weapons were used to shoot down the plane but the UK, US
and Ukraine have all said there are strong reasons to suspect the plane was
shot down accidentally by pro-Putin separatists using a Soviet-era missile
supplied by Russia.
Number 10
would not join those suggesting the football event should be cancelled, but the
fact that this is being mooted by some "shows the importance of Russia
changing course, before its international standing is damaged even
further", a spokesman said.
"The
prime minister does not believe we should reach immediately for boycotts, but
it is also not surprising, given Russian behaviour, that people are starting to
raise the issue."
Fifa has
ruled out a boycott, insisting the tournament could be "a force for
good". However, Clegg told the Sunday Times that stripping Russia of major
sporting events would be a "very potent political and symbolic
sanction".
"Vladimir
Putin himself has to understand that he can't have his cake and eat it,"
the Liberal Democrat leader said. "He can't constantly push the patience
of the international community beyond breaking point, destabilise a
neighbouring country, protect these armed separatists in the east of Ukraine
and still have the privilege and honour of receiving all the accolades in 2018
for being the host nation of the World Cup.
"That's
why I've come to the view that if he doesn't change course it's just not on,
the idea that Russia will host the World Cup in 2018. You can't have this – the
beautiful game marred by the ugly aggression of Russia on the Russian-Ukrainian
border.
"Not
only would Vladimir Putin exploit it, I think it would make the rest of the
world look so weak and so insincere about our protestations about Vladimir
Putin's behaviour if we're not prepared to pull the plug."
Clegg also
raised "question marks" over Russia holding the Grand Prix in Sochi
in October. "Vladimir Putin is a past master at attending these sporting
events and, sort of, pretending almost as if everything's utterly normal and
nothing untoward is happening around him," he said.
"And
if anyone needed any reminding of how dangerous this conflict is in the heart
of Europe, just ask any of the family and relatives of those loved ones they
lost in that plane incident last week."
Clegg has
also joined Cameron's criticism of a French deal to supply warships to Russia,
saying it would be "wholly inappropriate" for it to proceed in the
present circumstances.
"Whilst
I can entirely understand that the French may have entered into that contract
with the Russians in entirely different circumstances, it is wholly
inappropriate to go ahead with that now," he said.
"And
as you know, the prime minister has reviewed the outstanding licenses that we
have got to make sure that we deliver what we unilaterally announced back in
March, which was that there would be no exports from Britain of arms products
which could in any way fuel or fan the flames of the conflict in Ukraine."
Labour's
Alexander said Fifa needed to think about who else could hold the World Cup in
2018 if it is proven that Russia had responsibility for the Malaysian airliner
crash.
"If it
is confirmed that Russia carries direct responsibly for downing flight MH17,
and the Kremlin nonetheless continues to sponsor and fuel the conflict in
Ukraine, then Fifa will surely face calls to reconsider if Russia should host
the competition in 2018," he said. "Fifa should therefore be
undertaking contingency planning now so that, if required, alternative plans
are in place in plenty of time for teams and fans from around the world.
"The
Ukraine crisis represents not just a threat to European security, but a
significant geopolitical moment, and together, Europe must work harder to
better influence critical calculations now being made in the Kremlin."
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