Latvia's government on Monday said it no longer wanted to co-host the World Ice Hockey Championship with Belarus next year and was looking for a different partner. The announcement comes after unprecedented mass protests in Belarus against the 26-year rule of President Alexander Lukashenko following a disputed election there. "Given the situation in Belarus, we've decided to initiate talks with the International Ice Hockey Federation to reschedule next year's World Ice Hockey Championship games away from Minsk to some other country, while Riga stays as the co-host" Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said after a cabinet meeting. Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics added: "Our main agenda is to do everything, if the situation in Belarus does not change, to move away the championship elsewhere, to any other country." The World Championship is due to start on May 21 next year. The 2020 edition, which was due to have been hosted in Switzerland in May, had to be cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. il/dt/pma