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Russian 'bullying' over British Council condemned

22/05/2008

Russia's closure of British Council offices outside of Moscow late last year has been condemned as "unacceptable" by UK peers.

The House of Lords European Union committee accused the Russian authorities of targeting the British Council in order to force the UK to give way on unrelated foreign and energy policy issues.

Russia claimed that the British Council was "operating illegally" in December 2007; leading to what the UK government claimed was the intimidation of workers at the cultural organisation.

In their report the peers claim the move, as with the refusal to extradite Alexander Litvinenko murder suspect Andrei Lugovoi, is part of a "wider political strategy".

"The controversy around the extradition of Andrei Luguvoi and the scandalous treatment of the British Council shows that it is important that the EU stands shoulder to shoulder with member states when they come into conflict with Russia on international issues," Lord Roper, chairman of the Lords sub-committee on foreign affairs, defence and development policy, said.

"The EU must do everything it can to continue to engage with Russia but must always do that in the context of its guiding principles of democracy and the acceptance of international law."

Lord Roper called on the EU to increase its criticism of Russia if Moscow failed to match the standards it had accepted under the Council of Europe.

He also warned Dmitri Medvedev's elevation to the Kremlin would coincide with a "high degree of continuity" with predecessor Vladimir Putin's policies.

"Serious questions remain about the commitment of the Russian authorities to the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, especially in politically sensitive cases," the report elaborated.