MOSCOW, December 12 (RIA Novosti) - The British Council has been ordered to close all its Russian offices outside Moscow from the start of next year over tax and legal status violations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"To resolve these issues requires a separate bilateral agreement on the status and conditions of cultural centers," none of which currently exist, official spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said.
The British Council, whose offices were raided by tax police in 2004, has been involved in three years of legal wrangling with Russian authorities over non-payment of tax and questions over its legal status in Russia.
The organization, which is the cultural arm of the British Embassy and promotes education and cultural programs, first established an office in Moscow in the 1990s and went on to open a further 14 offices across Russia, only two of which remain open.
Kamynin said there was no bilateral status agreement in place permitting the opening of these regional offices.
"Not only was it not received, it was never requested," meaning that the British Council violated a host of Russian financial, tax and other legislation, he said.
Foreign commentators have said the pressure on the British Council is part of a long-running campaign by Russia against the U.K which hit an all-time low following the murder of Kremlin critic and security service defector Alexander Litvinenko in London in November 2006.
But, Britain's Foreign Office said Wednesday the closures were not linked with Litvinenko and Russia's refusal to extradite the chief suspect in the case, Andrei Lugovoi.
"It is a cultural, not a political, institution, and we strongly reject any attempt to link it to Russia's failure to cooperate with our efforts to bring the murder of Alexander Litvinenko to justice," a spokesman was cited by British media.
The British Council and the Foreign Office have repeatedly denied tax laws have been breached and said the council was operating in compliance with both Russian and U.K. legislation.
In October, the British Council announced it would close all its offices in Russia apart from where it had diplomatic and consular offices in Yekaterinburg and St. Petersburg. The council said the decision was made due to a change in the organization's global strategy.
