SHOWS: ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (JANUARY 20, 2013) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS WITH FIFA PRESIDENT SEPP BLATTER 2. JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FIFA PRESIDENT SEPP BLATTER, SAYING: "Concerning the idea to have a Commonwealth club cup, I can just deny any interest from the FIFA side and this is not a part of the solidarity operations in FIFA." 4. PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PICTURES 5. SOCCER BALL ON TABLE 6. NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS STORY: FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Sunday (January 20) dismissed any idea of several wealthy Russian clubs creating a new league with top teams from the former Soviet states, saying any such move would be against the principles of the world governing body. "Concerning the idea to have a Commonwealth club cup, I can just deny any interest from the FIFA side and this is not a part of the solidarity operations in FIFA," Blatter told reporters in St Petersburg after attending the opening of the CIS Cup, an annual competition involving teams from the former Soviet Union. Last month, several top Russian clubs, including champions Zenit St Petersburg, big spenders Anzhi Makhachkala and CSKA Moscow, unhappy with the way the domestic game is run, unveiled a plan to break away from Russia's top flight and start a new multi-national league of up to 16 teams as early as next year. The plan called for six or seven elite Russian clubs, such as Zenit, Anzhi, CSKA and their Moscow rivals Spartak, Dynamo and Lokomotiv, to join four or five top Ukrainian teams, namely Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev, then add one or two from Belarus, Armenia or Azerbaijan to make up the new CIS league. Critics say the creation of the new league would lead to a direct confrontation with FIFA and its European counterpart UEFA, who prohibit teams to participate in domestic competitions organised by other national football associations. New Russian soccer chief Nikolai Tolstykh, sitting next to Blatter, assured the FIFA head that his country would follow the guidelines of the world's governing body.