Russia critizes EU on British Council row

MOSCOW, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized comments from the Slovenian EU presidency regarding the diplomatic spat over the British Council in Russia.

EUbusiness.com quoted a statement from the Slovenian EU presidency saying "the EU deeply regrets in particular the harassment of British Council staff, as well as the administrative and other measures announced by the Russian authorities."

"We were astonished by Slovenia's statement, which is based on a simplified and distorted interpretation of the situation," Lavrov said, speaking to reporters in Moscow.

Lavrov accused Britain of enticing the EU to enter the diplomatic fray by using the notion of "European solidarity," RIA Novosti said Wednesday.

Moscow has ordered the closure of the British Council, the cultural arm of the British government, over disputes stemming from the poisoning of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko in London.