Moscow, May 7 (IANS): Russia is focused on hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup and is not interested in bidding for the 2024 Olympics, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has said.

"So far, Russia does not plan to bid for hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics," Mutko said on Wednesday, reports Xinhua.

The minister said the main tasks of Russian sports authorities are the successful preparations of the 2018 World Cup. He reminded that Russia will also host the 2019 World University Games.

Moreover, St. Petersburg will host the quarter-final and group stage matches during the second phase of the 2020 Euro. Russia is also considering bidding for hosting the Basketball World Cup in 2023.

National Olympic Committee head Alexander Zhukov said last December that Russia "might potentially apply" for the 2024 Olympics while the deadline of sending in applications to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is September. The candidate list will be published in the spring of 2016 while the final decision will be announced in 2017.