Russia-Britain row over British Council intensifies

British Council offices reopened in the Russian cities of St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg despite a Government ban since January 1.

“The British ambassador was told that the Russian side regarded such actions as deliberately provocative and aimed to escalate tensions in Russian-British relations,” Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It accused the offices in the two cities of breaking laws, including tax rules.

Official spokesperson Mikhail Kamynin on Monday blamed London for British Council problems, saying they were not linked with any other issue.

“We believe that the blame for this situation rests entirely with London and we do not in any way link this situation with other aspects of bilateral relations,” Kamyin told reporters.

After his meeting with the officials in the Russian Foreign Ministry, Brenton said linking the work of the British Council with the murder of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko was a mistake.

He said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had said that Russia’s reaction to the British Council was stemming from the controversy between Moscow and London over the Litvinenko murder.

“Russia had thus made it clear that these two things were related, which we believe is a mistake,” he said.

Brenton also said the Council’s regional offices will continue their work in Russia despite the ban, claiming its closure would be illegal.

Earlier, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband accused Russia of using the British Council as a “political football” in the increasingly strained relations between the two countries.

The latest row comes after continuing tensions over the death of Litvinenko in London in November 2006.