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, 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.

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.

Relations between the two countries reached an all-time low following the murder of Kremlin critic and security service defector Alexander Litvinenko in November 2006, and the subsequent refusal by Russia to extradite the chief suspect in the case, Andrei Lugovoi.