Kasparov urges foreign politicians not to attend World Cup in Russia

Frankfurt/Main (dpa) - Chess grandmaster and outspoken Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov has urged foreign politicians not to attend the football World Cup in Russia.He was generally against boycotts of sporting events at a late stage, as they tended to punish the athletes, Kasparov wrote in an op-ed piece in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Saturday.But he said he favoured a "political boycott of the regime" in Moscow and was against what he termed its hostile acts.Kasparov counted the suspected chemical weapon attack on a former Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter in Britain earlier this month amongst such hostile acts.Kasparov criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel for congratulating Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s victory in the election, which Kasparov described as a "farce."To schmooze with Putin at Moscow‘s football stadium might be even worse, Kasparov asserted.The World Cup is scheduled to begin on June 14.