Russia orders British Council to close all regional offices

[December]

The Brits, as always, are playing dirty games while making goofy faces like they don't understand what is wrong.

Well... Well... Well... :)

12/ 12/ 2007


MOSCOW, December 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has officially demanded that the British Council close its Yekaterinburg and St. Petersburg offices from January 1, 2008 over legal status violations.

"Until a legal basis has been established for the council's activities, its work in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg should be suspended as from January 1, 2008," the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, following a meeting between a deputy foreign minister and the British ambassador.

However, a British embassy spokesman indicated that the U.K. would not adhere to the order, saying: "Any action against the British Council would constitute a serious breach of international law."

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband slammed Russia's decision in parliament on Wednesday, saying its actions were very serious and illegal.

Miliband also said the only two countries which had previously banned the British Council were Myanmar and Iran. He expressed the hope that Russia would not join their ranks.

The British Council, whose Russian offices were raided by tax police in 2004, has been involved in three years of legal wrangling with authorities over alleged non-payment of tax and questions over its legal status.

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 council announced it would close all its offices in Russia apart from in Moscow, Yekaterinburg and St. Petersburg, where Britain has an embassy and consular offices. The council said the decision was made due to a change in the organization's global strategy.

In defiance of the Foreign Ministry's demands to close down operations, Natalia Minchenko, marketing director at the British Council in Moscow, said the British Council had "no plans to shut down in either Yekaterinburg or St. Petersburg," adding that they would "continue working."

The non-governmental 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, going on to open a further 14 offices across Russia.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin earlier said there was no bilateral status agreement in place to permit the opening of these regional offices.

He also said that the British Council had failed to receive permission for the opening of further branches, and that it had in fact made no such request.

This failure to comply with Russian legislation meant that the British Council had violated a host of Russian financial and tax laws, the spokesman went on to say.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20071212/92141950.html

http://d1.hse.ru/data/268/619/1234/British%20Council.jpg

http://www.britishcouncil.org/russia.htm

[Scorpion]

Thank God and December. I was going through withdrawl since I haven't had a daily dose of what's going on in Mother Russia and what shenannigans the supreme dictator Putin is up to.

If I were the Britis I'd say screw Russia.

[December]

British council closure due to Litvinenko case - ambassador
21/ 12/ 2007


LONDON, December 21 (RIA Novosti) - A crisis in Russia-U.K. relations was the cause of the closure of the British Council's regional offices in Russia from January 1, 2008, Russia's ambassador to London, Yury Fedotov, said on Friday.

The ambassador met with Permanent Under Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Peter Ricketts on Thursday.

"The British council, unfortunately, fell hostage to a failure to reach an agreement on a bilateral cultural agreement, defining the council's legal status," Fedotov said, adding that the British Council's activities in Russia were being carried out on a very 'precarious' legal basis.

Talks on the agreement were halted this summer due to a crisis in bilateral relations, caused by the Litvinenko affair.

Relations between the two countries hit an all-time low following the murder of Kremlin critic and security service defector Alexander Litvinenko in London in November 2006. In July 2007 London expelled Russian diplomats, imposed visa restrictions and suspended anti-terrorism cooperation with Russia after it refused to extradite the main suspect in the case. Moscow followed suit.

"The relations between our countries were marred by the U.K.'s move over the Litvinenko case," the ambassador said, adding that London's attempts to aggravate bilateral relations failed to reach the desirable effect of making Russia introduce unilateral concessions, but "seriously aggravated Russian-U.K. cooperation."

READ MORE -

http://en.rian.ru/world/20071221/93712220.html

[December]

Russia wants more guarantees from U.K.
Russia has banned a landmark art exhibition from travelling to Britain.

Video -
http://en.rian.ru/video/20071221/93630499.html

[Matt W]

That art thing is going ahead, December...do please try and keep up.

As for us making 'goofy faces' and not knowing what is going on...again, you really should try and keep up. This is very lazy of you. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7139959.stm

But in an interview with the BBC, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explicitly linked the order to Britain's expulsion of Russian diplomats in July.
He said Russia had been left with no choice but to retaliate over the affair.

If you will try and poison dissdents in our country, expect some diplomatic fallout.

[December]

If you will try and poison dissdents in our country, expect some diplomatic fallout.

What dissidents, Matt W? Boris Berezovsky and Co.? :D

Russia detains British Council official
Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:03:57

The ongoing row between Britain and Russia took on a new twist with a senior British Council official in St Petersburg being detained.

The official who was detained was none other than Stephen Kinnock, the son of Neil Kinnock, the former Labor leader and EU Commissioner. He is the director of the British Council representation in St Petersburg.

According to the BBC's website, he was followed, stopped and released by authorities on Tuesday.

However, according to a report by DPA, he was arrested on charges of drunk driving on Tuesday night and released on Wednesday.

This is while the British government warned Russia on Wednesday against the "intimidation" of Council staff, which was "completely unacceptable" and said it was informing the Russian ambassador of its concerns.

Britain's Foreign Secretary, David Miliband for his part said that the only losers from any attack on the British Council were the Russian citizens who wanted to use it.

A spokesman from the British Council confirmed that employees had been called upon for interviews and some had received house calls from representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The conflict over the cultural organization is the latest in a downward spiral of bilateral relations since the 2006 poisoning death in London of Russian spy-turned-dissident Alexander Litvinenko. As a result, Anglo-Russian relations sunk to new Cold War lows after Moscow refused to hand over Andrei Lugovoi, an ex-KGB bodyguard suspected of murdering Litvinenko.

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=39099&sectionid=351020601

Neil Kinnock's diplomat son arrested by Russian authorities in dispute over British Council

Since then, Neil Kinnock's son Stephen, director of the council in St Petersburg, has been detained on "trumped-up" accusations of drinkdriving.
Other employees have been interviewed by Russia's security services and told to leave their jobs.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband described the action as "harassment" and "completely unacceptable".

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=508417&in_page_id=1811

Russia Arrest Sparks New Diplomatic Row

Wednesday January 16, 2008

The row between the UK and Russia over the activities of the British Council has intensified after the organisation's director in St Petersburg was briefly arrested.

British Council offices in RussiaSky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall said that according to one of his sources Steven Kinnock's car was followed by police and he was pulled over.

Marshall said: "Things apparently got heated and he was detained for an hour then released."

It has also emerged that British Council staff have been called in for interviews by security service officials and have been questioned in their homes by officers from the interior ministry.

"We are deeply concerned by both of these incidents. Our main concern is the safety and security of our Russian and UK staff," a British Council spokeswoman said.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1300965,00.html?f=rss[hr]British Council suspends work in St. Petersburg
16/ 01/ 2008


ST. PETERSBURG, January 16 (RIA Novosti) - The British Council's office in St. Petersburg suspended work on Wednesday after Russian officials interviewed its staff and allegedly detained the head of the office.

Russia ordered that the Council's regional offices be closed over alleged tax violations from the start of this year, but the offices in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg in the Urals resumed work after the New Year holidays in defiance of the ban, a move that Moscow called a provocation.

The British government has denied that its cultural arm has violated Russian law.

A spokeswoman for the Moscow British Council office said on Wednesday that Russian employees of the St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg offices had been summoned for "interviews" with Russian security officials. The U.K. Foreign Office has opened a probe into the questioning, condemning any attempts to threaten the Council staff.

The Russian Federal Security Service said on Tuesday that the interviews were designed to "save Russian staff from any possible provocations."

Russia's ambassador to London said today that a solution to the dispute between Russia and the U.K. over the British Council can be reached if Britain shows more respect for Moscow's position.

"A resolution is possible, but we need to gain more respect and avoid further public discussions which under the current circumstances are unhelpful," Yury Fedotov told journalists.

Media reports said Russian police had detained Stephen Kinnock, director of the St. Petersburg office, on Tuesday, citing drunk driving and other traffic violations. The office director is the son of former U.K. Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock, who chairs the British Council.

The British Consulate in St. Petersburg confirmed the detention, but traffic police in St. Petersburg refused to comment on the issue.

The British Council, a non-profit organization which promotes education and cultural programs, first established an office in Moscow in the 1990s and went on to open a further 14 offices across the country. It has been involved in three years of legal wrangling with Russian authorities over the alleged non-payment of tax and issues relating to its legal status.

The Council dispute continues the cold period in London-Moscow relations, aggravated by the murder of Kremlin critic and security service defector Alexander Litvinenko in London in November 2006. In July 2007, London expelled Russian diplomats, imposed visa restrictions and suspended anti-terrorism cooperation with Russia after it refused to extradite the main suspect in the case. Moscow followed suit.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20080116/97122230.html

[December]

Konstantin Kosachyov, who heads the international affairs committee at the lower house of Russia's parliament, said no legal impediment would remain to the British Council in Russia as soon as it brought its operations in line with Russian law.

"I guess Russia is the only place where it [the British Council] has been attempting to act in line with British law. Russia is not a banana republic, we have a functioning legal system and any foreign organization, irrespective of the type of activities it carries out, has to comply with Russian laws," the parliamentarian said.

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Thursday that Russian authorities have been unable to provide genuine legal arguments to back up their position on the British Council, and have resorted to threatening members of staff to force the closure of the organization's offices.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20080117/97198166.html[hr]
If you will try and poison dissdents in our country, expect some diplomatic fallout.

What dissidents, Matt W? Boris Berezovsky and Co.? :D



Radiation traces found in Berezovsky office

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2006/11/28/nspy28a.jpg

By Duncan Gardham and Ben Fenton
Last Updated: 1:53am GMT 29/11/2006


Traces of radiation have been found at the offices of the billionaire Russian exile Boris Berezovsky and a security firm which employs the former commander of Britain's special forces.

Polonium 210, the rare radioactive element thought to have killed the former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko, has been found at Mr Berezovsky's offices and those of the private security firm Erinys.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/28/nspy28.xml


'I am plotting a new Russian revolution'

London exile Berezovsky says force necessary to bring down President Putin.
Ian Cobain, Matthew Taylor and Luke Harding in Moscow
Friday April 13, 2007
The Guardian

The Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky has told the Guardian he is plotting the violent overthrow of President Putin from his base in Britain after forging close contacts with members of Russia's ruling elite.
In comments which appear calculated to enrage the Kremlin, and which will further inflame relations between London and Moscow, the multimillionaire claimed he was already bankrolling people close to the president who are conspiring to mount a palace coup.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,2056321,00.html

http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/images/2007/01/16/image2360495g.jpg

[December]

Kinnock to escape charges as British Council-Russia row continues

http://img.rian.ru/images/9688/27/96882709.jpg

18/ 01/ 2008

ST. PETERSBURG, January 18 (RIA Novosti) - Stephen Kinnock, director of the British Council in St. Petersburg and son of ex-U.K. Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock, will not be charged over alleged traffic violations, a police source said on Friday.

Media reports on Wednesday said Russian police had detained Kinnock, 37, on January 15 for drunk driving and other traffic violations. However, as Kinnock enjoys diplomatic immunity, he will not be charged over the matter.

"Kinnock was handed over to members of the Consulate," the source said.

Stephen Kinnock's father, Neil Kinnock, took up the post of head of the British Council in 2004 after stepping down as vice-president of the European Commission.

The arrest of the son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher's one-time bitter political rival came as a row between the British Council, the cultural arm of the British government, and Russia continued.

On Friday, the British Council's office in St. Petersburg froze its projects for the next three weeks amid pressure from Russian authorities over alleged tax arrears, a spokesman said.

The Council's chief executive, Martin Davidson, said on Thursday that 10 employees had received late-night visits from Russian tax police, and that all the 20 staffers had been interviewed by Russian security officials.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband described Russia's actions as "reprehensible" on Thursday, adding that they were a "stain" on the country's reputation.

Political commentators in Britain are under no doubt that the British Council dispute is inextricably linked to Britain's repeated requests for the extradition of Andrei Lugovoi, the man it suspects of being behind the murder of ex-Russian security services member Alexander Litvinenko in London in November 2006. Russia has refused to extradite Lugovoi, citing its Constitution.

Russia has accused Britain of attempting to politicize the issue, which it says is purely a legal matter.

Konstantin Kosachyov, who heads the international affairs committee at the lower house of Russia's parliament, said no legal impediment would remain to the British Council in Russia as soon as it brought its operations in line with Russian law.

"I guess Russia is the only place where it [the British Council] has been attempting to act in line with British law. Russia is not a banana republic, we have a functioning legal system and any foreign organization, irrespective of the type of activities it carries out, has to comply with Russian laws," the parliamentarian said.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20080118/97296726.html