Both the West and Ukraine are putting quite blatant pressure on other countries working in FIDE and participating in the General Assembly of the body on September 21-22 in Budapest, which is not a secret and everybody knows it, Peskov told the press.

The spokesman expressed Russia’s gratitude to the countries that spoke in favor of lifting the sanctions against Russian and Belarussian chess players.

Prior to the vote at the General Assembly, the FIDE Council recommended not to completely lift the restrictions imposed on Russian and Belarussian chess players, but to allow children under 12 years old and athletes with disabilities to participate in team competitions.

Most of the delegates’ votes on Sunday were cast in favor of one of three options: to support the FIDE Council’s recommendation.

In doing so, the organization will continue to consult with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

“We would like to express our gratitude to our colleagues from Kyrgyzstan, who came out openly in support of Russia and have made such a proposal to lift sanctions on Russian and Belarussian athletes, and we know that Kyrgyzstan is not the only country that supports us,” Peskov added.

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