Russia's hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2018 is not under threat despite western attempts to isolate Moscow, President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

"The only correct approach is that football and sport in general stand out of politics," Putin told the annual Seliger youth forum in Tver region.

He praised FIFA for its assertiveness in that regard, also hailing its chief Joseph Blatter for permission to cut the capacity of the stadiums as venues for the games.

FIFA earlier allowed Russia to decrease the number of arena seats from 45,000 to 35,000 in order to reach their 100-percent occupancy rate during the games, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.

Putin also said the government has decided not to strike out any host city from the initial list of eleven host cities across Russia.

Earlier in August, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that about one million visitors might attend the World Cup games.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on August 11 vowed to organize the FIFA World Cup 2018 on the same high level as 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games despite financial limitations.

The preparations for the event require the implementation of about 300 infrastructure projects in those cities, as well as in 20 more cities included in the visitors' accommodation service program. The overall cost of the World Cup 2018 is estimated at 20 billion US dollars.