Kremlin says its backing for Syrian de-escalation unrelated to World Cup

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Moscow's backing for a de-escalation of hostilities in Syria was not specifically related to the World Cup, which Russia is hosting, and was something it had long advocated.

Peskov was responding to a question on a conference call about an Israeli media report which said Russia had called on Israel and other countries involved in the Syrian conflict to cease fighting during the World Cup.

"It is Russia's permanent policy to call on countries to take a balanced position and prevent actions that could lead to highly explosive consequences and the destabilisation of an already fragile situation," said Peskov.