Director General of FC Shakhtar Donetsk Serhiy Palkin has praised the holding of a joint friendly tournament involving Shakhtar Donetsk, Dynamo Kyiv, Spartak Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg, but thinks that talk of a joint Ukrainian-Russian league is premature.

"It's too early to talk about a unified league. One thing is to hold such a tournament, and another thing is to hold a league. These are different things, and it's currently improper to compare them. We have repeatedly stated our position on a joint league. If this helps develop Ukrainian football, we will support this. If this does not benefit us, then why do we all need that? It's necessary to analyze everything and look at the proposed format and rules of such a league," he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine on Monday.

"Today we held such a tournament and looked how it technically works, because one thing is to declare something, and another thing is to hold [such a tournament]," Palkin said.