German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not give any direct answer to the question of whether she views the appeal of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to cancel the FIFA World Cup in Russia as appropriate.
"I'm thinking about the year 2015 now; we have a lot of work – to implement the Minsk Agreement; at first, we will have the European Football Championship in 2016, which I'm looking forward to," Merkel told reporters on Monday after negotiations with the Ukrainian President.
Russia was chosen to host the 2018 World Cup in 2010. The tournament is expected to last from June 14 until July 15, 2018. Matches will take place in 11 Russian cities — Moscow, Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi and Yekaterinburg.
