Members of the Russian State Duma, the lower house of parliament, on Tuesday strongly denounced attempts to disrupt the Olympic torch relay and boycott the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

"The Olympic event should be held by all means and it is unpleasant when it is marred by such developments," Speaker of the State Duma Boris Gryzlov said when answering a question about violent protests aimed at disrupting the torch relay in Paris on Monday.

Attempts to boycott Olympics greatly harm sports, Gryzlov said.

The view was echoed by Leonid Slutsky, first deputy chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the lower house, who believed that the Olympic events should not give rise to speculation in political disputes.

In particular, Slutsky harshly criticized the call made by U.S. presidential candidate Hilary Clinton on President George W. Bush to boycott the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

"It is a pure pre-election publicity stunt," Slutsky said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2008)