By Xinhua
Moscow : Russia has decried the reopening of the British Council offices in the country, which it had asked to close down, and called it a “deliberate provocation”.
The two British Council offices reopened Monday after a holiday break. Russia meanwhile promised to take new measures against the cultural body of Britain.
In December, Moscow ordered the closure of two regional offices of the British Council in Yekaterinburg and St Petersburg from the new year, citing illegal status and tax arrears. Britain blamed Russia for politicising the issue.
On Monday, the Russian foreign ministry summoned British Ambassador Anthony Brenton to discuss the issue once again.
“The British ambassador was told that Russia considers such actions as a deliberate provocation aimed at increasing tensions between the two countries,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The British Council offices promote cultural relations and facilitate educational exchange programmes with other countries.
“Given that our calls were not heeded, Russia has to take administrative and legal measures in line with Russian laws and world practices,” the ministry said.
These will include moves to recover what Moscow said was tax arrears, restrictions on entry visas issued to British consular officials and denial of accreditation extensions for current employees.
The ministry said the standoff “may have the most negative implications for Russia-Britain relations” and called on Britain to “stop ignoring obvious facts”.
The British envoy defended the council, saying it “is legally working and would continue to work.”
“Any Russian action against it would be a breach of international law,” Brenton told reporters after meeting Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov.
Ties between Moscow and London have been strained after the poisoning case of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko.
Britain expelled four Russian diplomats in July due to Russia’s refusal to extradite a main suspect in the case, Andrei Lugovoi, who was accused of murdering Litvinenko. Russia, in a retaliatory step, also expelled four British diplomats.