Russia resolutely condemns any attempts to boycott the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said at the Beijing airport on Tuesday.

"Russia is against a boycott of the Beijing Olympics and considers it unacceptable," Zhukov told Russian journalists on arrival in the Chinese capital.

"We don't welcome attempts at boycotting the Olympics that are a most important world event," Zhukov was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

Zhukov arrived in the Chinese capital to attend a meeting of the International Olympic Committee's Executive Board, where he is due to report on the preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2008)