Non-attendance at World Cup not boycott: FM

While Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini announced on Friday that he would not be going to Russia to watch the World Cup games, the foreign ministry said the non-attendance decision is not a boycott.

Until Friday, Soini had not responded to media questions about his World Cup plans.

Earlier, other leading Finnish politicians, including President Sauli Niinistö, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and Sports Minister Sampo Terho, had announced they would not go but noted that it was not a boycott.

Finland is not playing in the games.

The Finnish attitude differs from that of neighboring Sweden. Swedish Sports Minister Annika Stranhall recently expressed concern with the state of democracy and human rights in Russia.

In the Nordic area, besides Sweden, Icelandic leaders have also said they would stay away on a boycott basis.

Reports about the intentions of Danish politicians have been conflicting.

Markku Jokisipilä, director of the parliamentary research center at Turku University, told national broadcaster Yle that the stands of leading Finnish politicians are in line with the Finnish policy towards Russia. "Finland does not accept all the actions on Russia, but wants to keep the dialogue open between the two countries."

Jokisipilä said a Finnish boycott would have been odd as Finland has been arranging bilateral meetings at ministerial and head of state level.

In April, 60 members of the European parliament signed an open letter calling European politicians not to go to the games. It did not lead to a joint EU approach, however.