World leaders should boycott Russian President Vladimir Putin's VIP box at next month's World Cup opening unless he takes steps to protect Syrian civilians, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. Russia, which hosts the world's most-watched sporting event for the first time this year, is a key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime and arguably the most powerful broker in the seven-year-old war.
"In hosting one of the most televised events in the world, Russia is courting world public opinion and looking for respect," HRW's executive director, Kenneth Roth, said in a statement. "World leaders should signal to President Putin that unless he changes track and acts to end atrocities by Russian and Syrian forces in Syria, they won't be in their seats in the VIP box with him on opening night." Billions of people worldwide are expected to watch the World Cup on television and HRW argued that Moscow's responsibility in the suffering of Syrian civilians should not be forgotten.