The Kremlin welcomes the fact that French President Emmanuel Macron will arrive in Russia for the football World Cup, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

“We are happy that the French president will come,” Peskov told RIA news agency. Earlier, Macron promised to attend the championship if the French national team reached the semifinals.

“If the French team passes beyond the quarter-finals I will come and support,” Macron said during a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in May.

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The French team beat Uruguay 2-0 on Thursday. Later that same day, the Elysee Palace confirmed that the French president would attend the World Cup in Russia. “Emmanuel Macron will travel to St. Petersburg, Russia, on Tuesday [July 10] to support the French team,” the French BMF TV reported, citing the presidential office.

Earlier, the Swedish government ended its diplomatic boycott of the 2018 World Cup after the national team defeated Switzerland in their last-16 clash in St. Petersburg on July 3. “Football should be something that unites,” the Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom told reporters at that time.

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