Russia-Britain spat deepens after cultural ban

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia accused Britain on Friday of systematically trying to undermine diplomatic ties, but London said it had the European Union's backing in a row over the activities of its cultural council in Russia.

Moscow has ordered the presence of the British Council's regional offices in Russia to be scaled down, further damaging relations still reeling from a dispute over the murder in London of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko.

Russia's foreign ministry this week said the Council, which promotes British culture abroad, must halt work at its two offices outside Moscow, saying they were illegal.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said such a move was unacceptable and told reporters after an EU meeting in Brussels on Friday that the EU soon would make its displeasure at Russia's move clear.

In a briefing in Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was explicit in his criticism of Britain.

"Britain has embarked on a program of systematic deterioration of our bilateral relations, expelled Russian diplomats, ceased all cooperative contact with the FSB (Russian state security service), meaning any and all counter-terrorism cooperation," he told reporters.

"The British side has frozen discussion on improving the visa system which has the utmost importance in the development of relations between our two countries."

Britain said in July it was scaling back cooperation with Russia as a retaliatory measure over Moscow's refusal to extradite the main suspect in the 2006 murder of Litvinenko, a former Russian intelligence agent.

Britain wants Moscow to extradite former KGB bodyguard Andrei Lugovoy -- who denies any guilt -- to stand trial on charges of poisoning Litvinenko with radioactive polonium.

The retaliatory measures included Britain expelling four Russian diplomats. Moscow responded soon after by throwing out four British diplomats.

Following Lavrov's comments, Brown told reporters that Russia could expect to receive the EU's censure.

"I talked to many leaders today who are angry with what has happened and the (EU) presidency statement will reflect that anger. It is completely unacceptable and unjustifiable behavior," he said. The statement is expected later or on Saturday, Britain's Foreign Minister David Miliband said.

"I cannot conceive what benefit there is for the Russian government for closing down British cultural offices outside Moscow," Miliband told reporters in Brussels. "Cultural exchange between Britain and Russia is something that we celebrate."

The British Council operates as a not-for-profit charity run by the British government in 109 countries, teaching English, providing business contacts and administering academic tests for students who wish to study in Britain.

Russia's foreign ministry says the two Council offices outside Moscow, in St Petersburg and the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, are in violation of an international convention on consular relations.

"Our British colleagues are attempting to manipulate international law, which they are themselves violating, as well as the Russian constitution," Lavrov said.

Speaking to a parliamentary committee in London on Thursday, Brown defended the British Council's legal status in Russia.

"This is totally unacceptable. "We wish this action to be desisted from immediately," he said.

(Reporting by Chris Baldwin, writing by James Kilner; editing by Janet Lawrence and Richard Balmforth)