Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius unexpectedly admitted that all attempts to boycott the World Cup in Russia, held in Russia, did not have any effect. The diplomat called the naive idea of ??organizing a mundial in Russia.

"In my opinion, (the effect of the boycott) is not very felt. The main thing is that the very idea of ??organizing a championship in Russia. In my opinion, this is a bad idea, "- he said on the air of the TV channel" 112 Ukraine ". Linkevicius contradicts himself, saying that sport and culture can not be "politics" and at the same time calling for ignoring the championship for political reasons. He is sure that in Russia "everything is now politics" and holding the 2018 World Cup "is another lever for propaganda" and a way to "improve the image a bit internationally". Nevertheless, he admits that the idea of ??the initiators of the boycott failed.

At the end of May, the minister already called the holding of the mundialya in Russia a stupid idea, and sport and culture as tools of propaganda echoing British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who called for a boycott back in March. It was also joined by the authorities of Poland, Iceland and Australia. But in the middle of June this idea had to be abandoned. And fans of the English football team, it seems, during the championship are changing their views are not Russia in the most positive direction, writes The Guardian. The authors note that "Russia demonstrates the best, most smiling face", emphasizing that this is a "wonderful place" for the championship.