The Kremlin reacted to the disqualification of grandmaster Karyakin

MOSCOW, Mar 22 Russia regrets the decision of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) on the temporary disqualification of grandmaster Sergey Karyakin for an open letter in support of a special military operation in Ukraine, and also calls on the federation to reconsider the decision and remain out of politics, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday. including chess, should be outside of politics — this is probably the main constant of our approach. At the same time, when such events occur, any citizen of the Russian Federation has and should have the right to express his position. No one can deprive a Russian citizen of such rights. But in no way should this provoke any kind of political reaction on the part of FIDE,» said Peskov, who is also the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Chess Federation. «We regret in this regard, we call on FIDE to reconsider this decision and still remain out of politics, thus confirming the international prestige of this international chess organization. Of course, we do not agree with such a decision (on the disqualification of Karyakin — ed.),» he added.