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 The ongoing conflict between pro-Russian separatists and the
Ukraine government came to a head last week with the downing of a
Malaysian Airlines passenger plane, leading to the deaths of 298
people.
Moscow denies supporting the separatists, but following the disaster
senior German lawmakers raised the possibility of stripping Russia
of the hosting rights to the World Cup.
The Dutch football association said it wanted to postpone discussion
over participation in the next World Cup until after a national day
of mourning to remember the victims, two-thirds of whom were from
the Netherlands.
"As a world governing body of football FIFA takes its responsibility
in governing football seriously and we support any peaceful and
democratic debate," the Zurich-based organization said in a
statement.
"FIFA deplores any form of violence and will continue to use its
tournaments to promote dialogue, understanding and peace among
peoples.
"History has shown so far that boycotting sport events or a policy
of isolation or confrontation are not the most effective ways to
solve problems."
FIFA said the World Cup could be a "powerful catalyst for
constructive dialogue between people and governments", uniting teams
and nations.
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"FIFA is convinced that, through football, particularly the FIFA
World Cup and its international spotlight, we can achieve positive
change in the world, but football cannot be seen as a solution for
all issues, particularly those related to world politics," the
ruling body added.
"We have seen that the FIFA World Cup can be a force for good and
FIFA believes this will be the case for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in
Russia."
The European Union has threatened to impose harsher economic
sanctions on Russia after the crash near Donetsk, a stronghold of
pro-Russian rebels.
(Reporting by Josh Reich, Editing by Ed Osmond)
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