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U.K., Russia row over British Council

LONDON: In a further escalation of diplomatic tensions between Britain and Russia, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Thursday accused Moscow of resorting to “cold war” tactics after the Russian government ordered closure of two of the three British Council offices in the country alleging tax violations.

Mr. Miliband’s remarks in a statement in the Commons came as the British Council chief executive Martin Davidson announced that it had suspended work at its offices in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg alleging “intimidation” of their Russian employees by security forces.

“The Russian authorities have made it impossible for us to operate in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, so I have taken the decision to suspend operations in both cities,” Mr. Davidson said.

The British government has denied any tax violations by the British Council and sees the Russian action as a fallout of its anger over accusations that the Kremlin was behind the alleged poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent, who died in a London hospital in November 2006 after mysteriously ingesting a deadly radioactive material.

British police want a leading pro-Kremlin businessman Andrei Lugovoy to be extradited to Britain to face trial for Litvinenko’s death. Moscow has denied any hand in Litvinenko’s death.

Mr. Miliband said cultural activities between the two countries should not become a “political football” and described the Russian allegations of tax evasion and the alleged “intimidation” of British Council staff as “reprehensible.” Such actions, he said, were a “stain on Russia’s reputation and standing”.

“We saw similar actions during the Cold War but frankly thought they had been put behind us,” he said.

Mr. Miliband said the Russian government had insisted that the work of the British Council was completely legal and consistent with international law as well as bilateral agreements between the two countries.

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