"I was impressed by the level of the organization. Everything is at a very high level," Destexhe said during a video conference with his Russian colleagues.

The senator said that he had attended the group-stage match between Belgium and England in Kaliningrad and that Russians were very hospitable.

"We felt the warmth of Russian souls... We communicated a lot with the Russians, and although not everyone spoke English well, we understood each other," Destexhe said.

He added that Russia did well at the 2018 World Cup and congratulated the team on reaching the quarter-finals.

"Nobody expected that the Russian national team would beat Spain," the senator said.

 This year's World Cup will come to an end on Sunday, with France facing Croatia in the final at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

Belgium were eliminated from the World Cup after losing 1-0 to France in the semi-finals on Tuesday.